ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Cannabis advocates are hoping bills for expanded cannabis use and possession will advance in this year’s legislative session.

“Here we are, my third year in a row, the first day in session, and we’re begging for just sensible cannabis legislation,” said Omari Anderson, the CEO and founder of The Best Dirty Lemonade.

“And basically, we’re tired of waiting. We’re tired of waiting for Georgia to go ahead and get off their butt because we’ve been here, we shared the stories about the patients who are sick,” said Yolanda Bennett, the co‑founder of the Georgia Medical Cannabis Society.

Bennett said cannabis saved her life.

“A few years ago, I was in a wheelchair and I was on high dose steroids, and that’s the only thing that weaned me off of those high dose steroids. Right now, I’m suffering from Cushing syndrome due to those high dose steroids,” said Bennett. “I went through the steroid crisis, and I know that cannabis heals, and I know cannabis saved my life and got me out of that wheelchair, because I know with opioids, even then, with the pain that I was experiencing, they made you feel like a criminal.”

Angela Weston, another co‑founder of the Georgia Medical Cannabis Society, said she also relies on cannabis for medicinal purposes.

“It should be up to the provider how much a patient needs to have, and not a lawmaker,” Weston said. “And our motto is patience over profits, and that’s what we basically live by. It’s more of us looking at what the patient basically needs, and we need a more robust program here,” Weston said.

Georgia is a medical cannabis state, meaning only eligible patients can purchase and possess 20 ounces of low‑THC oil and products. Georgia does not allow the sale or possession of marijuana plant material.

Advocates have a unified front to decriminalize weed, to make access equitable for all, and to make the whole marijuana plant legal.

“It’s not said as people think. So that stigma definitely has to be broken,” Weston said.

“And I think it’s blown out of proportion. I think everyone who wants to get high is getting high,” said Aviva Vuvuzela, with the Georgia Hemp Economic Revival Organization.

“It’s not going to be easy. But if enough of you care about this plant and come out and speak for it, I don’t see why it can’t happen,” said Vuvuzela.

House Bill 496, which provides limitations on searches and arrests based on the scent of marijuana, is one of more than a dozen laws cannabis advocates are pushing for.

“Because indeed, if we don’t do sensible cannabis legislation, we’ll continue to be here fighting this time,” said David Raudabaugh, the founder of Grassroots Association.

This comes as President Donald Trump’s recent executive order reclassified marijuana as a low‑risk drug, Schedule III. This classification includes ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.

Georgia state Rep. Derrick Jackson spoke with some of the cannabis advocates at the opening day of the legislative session.

“It was promising, because you have citizens of Georgia that were waiting to speak to their lawmakers and give them a perspective about how the legislation, the things we do under this gold dome negatively impacts them,” said Jackson.

Jackson said he hopes to draft cannabis bills that would decriminalize weed in the state and define medical, retail and recreational uses.

“And if we do this properly, not only we’re going to have we’re going to mitigate the law enforcement subjectivity that places young, black men and women in jail, but we’re going to have a state bill that reflects, all, you know, 159 counties and 536 cities,” said Jackson.

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