Recently the Cobb Police Department issued a directive to its officers not to arrest persons for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. This is because of a new law that went into effect in May allowing hemp to have a concentration of up to 0.3% THC. The current testing of marijuana in Georgia cannot differentiate between hemp THC and marijuana THC so there is a built in defense to marijuana possession cases that make prosecution very difficult. Arrests for larger amounts of marijuana are still being made and the crime lab is doing additional testing to support those arrests.

The position of the Cobb County Solicitor's office who prosecutes the misdemeanor possession cases is that they are still prosecuting cases that have already been started but they are being more lenient on granting diversion on cases made after May 1. Their is no issue on cases made before May 1.

Bottom line is if you are charged with marijuana possession whether before or after the effective date of the new hemp law you need legal representation. It is just that post May 1st cases will get preferential treatment that an attorney can fully optimize for the client's benefit.