News on Some Edibles in Georgia

ARE DELTA-8 AND DELTA-10 EDIBLES LEGAL IN GEORGIA?

GOOD NEWS ON THEIR USE IN GEORGIA

(at least for now)

     As many of my clients and readers know, Georgia law on Delta-8 and Delta-10 has been confusing and inconsistent. It makes lots of people nervous because they aren't sure about what could happen to them if they sold Delta-8 or Delta-10, or even just used it. While many thought it was safe to sell or use, a few counties had gotten aggressive in raiding and arresting people for selling these products. The issue was further complicated by the differences between products that are edible and products that are not.

     One such county that was aggressive was Gwinnett county. The district attorney in Gwinnett county issued a press release in 2022 that they would be cracking down on places that sold Delta-8 and Delta-10. Some shops were raided and other shops removed such products out of fear of being arrested, even though there was no clear law that said it was illegal to sell. This move by the Gwinnett district attorney resulted in a lawsuit being filed by Elements Distribution (one store that was raided) to clarify whether or not Delta-8 and Delta-10 could be lawfully sold in either edible or non-edible form.  The State (Gwinnett's DA) later admitted that the products that were not edibles were lawful, and returned the seized (non-edible) products to the raided store. But, for the Delta-8 and Delta-10 products that were considered edible, the State still believed it had the right to seize those because they thought they were a "controlled substance" making them illegal.

     In November of 2023, the Georgia Court of Appeals issued an opinion on whether Gwinnett county had the right to raid those shops with a warrant and seize edibles containing Delta-8 and Delta-10.  The Court of Appeals ruled that Georgia law (16-13-25) does not consider THC to be a "controlled substance" when it is derived from hemp or hemp products (meaning those products that contain not more than .3% of Delta-9 THC concentration). The Court did not believe it was valid for Gwinnett to argue that somehow hemp products (like edibles) could be considered illegal when hemp itself was not. If a product - either edible or not- only contains Delta-8 or Delta-10, then it cannot be considered a controlled substance. In other words, the police had no right to issue a warrant to seize any products that only contained Delta-8 or Delta-10, including edibles. Gwinnett now has to return the edibles containing only Delta-8 or Delta-10 to the store. And presumably, all stores can now feel comfortable selling Delta-8 and Delta-10 products whether they are edible or not. 

     So, can you lawfully buy and consume an edible that ONLY contains Delta-8 or Delta-10? It appears that for now, the answer is yes! 

     The reason I say "for now" is because we are still waiting to see whether the District Attorney in Gwinnett will appeal this ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court. It will be months or more before we know whether the Georgia Supreme Court gets the case and if so, what they decide.

     REMEMBER, marijuana (or Delta-9 in any form more than .3%) is still illegal in almost all situations in Georgia. Edibles containing Delta-9 (marijuana) are still illegal and can result in very serious charges. Call me if you have been arrested for possession of marijuana or THC in Cobb County, I can help! 

For more info on what can happen if you have marijuana / Delta-10 edibles - click here: https://www.cobbcriminaldefenselawyer.com/arrested-for-an-edible-the-shocking-truth-about-georgia-law

If you want to read the Court of Appeals decision: https://law.justia.com/cases/georgia/court-of-appeals/2023/a23a0842.html