Sheriff Jarrard, Georgia Sheriff’s Association Oppose Expanding State’s Medical Marijuana Laws

DAHLONEGA, Ga. — Georgia lawmakers rejected an expansion of state law that would permit a limited form of medical marijuana last year, but determined lawmakers like State Reps. Allen Peake, R-Macon and Renee Unterman, R-Buford may be tempted to try again during the 2017 General Assembly.

Proponents have even expressed the desire to allow an in-state program to grow and cultivate cannabis in Georgia for medical purposes.

At the recent Eggs & Issues Breakfast at the University of North Georgia, Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard urged State Senator Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega and State Rep. Kevin Tanner, R-Dawsonville to oppose any such effort.

In an interview with fetchyournews.com, Jarrard said, “Myself and the Georgia Sheriff’a Association strongly oppose expanding the current law and allowing the cultivation of marijuana in the state. It’s a gateway to other drugs and it’s always been that way. I’ve been to Colorado since they legalized marijuana and officials in their school districts say it has caused a lot of problems. I teach a D.A.R.E. program and I know that marijuana is three times more likely to cause cancer than tobacco.”

Jarrard, like many law enforcement officials, is concerned that expanding the law could have the unintended consequences of an uprising in drug addiction and crime.

Testifying before a senate committee last year, Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said, “I have been in law enforcement for 25 years and I have never seen or met a drug addict that at some point in time hasn’t stated that they started their usage with marijuana. It’s only continued to develop further.”
White County Sheriff Neal Walden agrees with Jarrard and says he too supports the Georgia Sheriff’s Association position.

That position is as follows:
Oppose the legislation of marijuana for all social, recreational and industrial purposes;

Oppose the cultivation of marijuana for all purposes;

Support the use of chemicals derived from cannabis for medical use for certain well-defined serious health conditions;

Oppose the medical delivery or application of chemicals derived from cannabis plants through smoking;

Oppose legislative proposals where appropriate controls and security measures do not exist ans where strict civil and criminal penalties are absent.