You still can’t smoke medical cannabis in Georgia, but you can vape it. What’s the difference?

by Alander Rocha, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission] September 8, 2026 Medical cannabis dispensaries are now selling the flower form of the drug in Georgia, but a new state law that took effect this summer has created some confusion over how it can be legally consumed.  Lawmakers passed a measure earlier this year that overhauled the state’s medical cannabis program by dropping the confusing “low THC oil” branding, allowing dry-herb and oil vaporization, adding qualifying medical conditions and removing previous potency barriers. The changes quickly triggered significant growth in the number of patients enrolled in the program, with nearly 50,000 patients as of Sept. 2, according to the Department of Public Health. But limits remain on how the raw cannabis flower can be used. Smoking it remains illegal under the new state law known as the Putting Patients First Act, which allows registered patients 21 and older to consume flower and oil at home strictly through vaporization. “The law is very clear. You can vaporize flower and then of course vaporize the vape oil. So, the only thing that’s allowed in inhalables is vaporizing. That’s it,” said Newnan Republican state Sen. Matt
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