Section 16-12-203 - Powers, duties and responsibilitiesThe commission shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
(1) To apply for, receive, and administer state funds appropriated to the commission, private grants and donations, and other funds and donations. The commission's annual distributions shall be capped and limited to funds received from the sources specified in this paragraph. The commission shall ensure that its funds are not used as a supplement or secondary payor to any other third-party payor;(2) To execute a contract or contracts to purchase or obtain low THC oil, cannabis, cannabinoids, or any other derivative, compound, or substantially similar products from any available legal source and to provide logistics related thereto in accordance with this article. Such contract or contracts may be executed with one or more qualified corporations or with one or more governmental entities. Purchases made pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to state purchasing laws contained in Article 3 of Chapter 5 of Title 50 or in other provisions of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated;(3) To utilize funds appropriated to the commission as may be necessary to purchase and transport low THC oil and products to the State of Georgia for use by registered patients;(4) To develop, establish, maintain, and administer a low THC oil and products distribution network to obtain and distribute low THC oil and products to registered patients in this state and to coordinate the best use of facilities and resources to operate such distribution network;(5) To establish procedures for inspecting production facilities operated by designated universities;(6) To establish requirements and procedures to ensure quality control, security, and oversight of low THC oil and products production in this state, including, but not limited to, testing for purity and dosage levels and verification that product labels accurately reflect product content;(7) To provide for oversight of tracking systems;(8) To coordinate and assist in the collection of data to evaluate the provision of low THC oil and products in this state;(9) To study the provision of low THC oil and products in this state to determine the best practices and methods of providing such services, to determine what changes are needed to improve the provision of low THC oil and products, and to report any proposed legislative changes to the General Assembly each year;(10) To coordinate its activities with the Department of Public Health;(11) To employ an executive director and other staff and to establish duties and responsibilities of such persons;(12) To employ and manage consultants, as deemed necessary, in order to fulfill its duties and responsibilities under this article;(13) To review new treatment and delivery methods for low THC oil and products that may result from medical research and are not otherwise inconsistent with this article, and recommend statutory changes to the General Assembly to authorize such treatment and delivery methods and products;(14) To be responsible for the noncriminal enforcement of the provisions of this article and to have all of the necessary duties, power, and authority to carry out such responsibility;(15) To be authorized to draft, adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce such rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the administration and enforcement of this article in the protection of public health, safety, and welfare;(16) To enforce qualifications for licensure; and(17) To levy fines for failure by a Class 1 production licensee, Class 2 production licensee, or dispensing licensee to operate in accordance with rules and regulations established by the commission within 14 days of written notice by the commission of specific violations. Such fines shall not exceed $25,000.00 for a first offense, $50,000.00 for a failure to remedy the offense within 60 days after written notice of a first offense, and $75,000.00 for subsequent failures to remedy noncompliance within 90 days after written notice of a first offense. Following a third written notice of a recurring violation, the commission may also order a licensee to cease operations for a period of up to 30 days to correct the violation. Any such fines or orders to cease operations shall be subject to Chapter 13 of Title 50, the "Georgia Administrative Procedure Act."Amended by 2021 Ga. Laws 141,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2021.Added by 2019 Ga. Laws 27,§ 4, eff. 7/1/2019.