Georgia Hemp Industry – Business Plan Templates

Key Takeaways

Hemp Industry Regulations:
- The Department of Agriculture now regulates the growing, processing, testing, manufacturing of hemp products, wholesale, and retail sale of consumable hemp products.
Licenses available:
- Hemp Grower License
- Hemp Processor Permit
- Retail Consumable Hemp Establishment License
- Wholesale Consumable Hemp License
- Hemp Manufacturer License
- Hemp Laboratory Registration.
Products that are legal for sale:
- Gummies, vapes, oil-based tinctures, beverages and topicals that fall within the newly established requirements are permitted for sale in Georgia.
Market:
- The USDA’s search tool shows 117 growers registered for the 2025 season.
- Currently there are at least 80 hemp CBD stores in Georgia.
- The president of the Hemp Beverage Alliance believes that Georgia can be the next big hemp beverage marketplace, after Minnesota.

Hemp Legalization in Georgia

On May 10, 2019, Georgia became the 42nd state to legalize hemp farming when Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill to provide for licensing and permit requirements for hemp growers and hemp processors.

Processors who want to work with hemp must pay a $25,000 annual license fee, the license to grow hemp costs $50 per acre annually with a maximum of $5,000.

The Department of Agriculture can randomly test hemp at the fields and greenhouses of all licensees:

If a test sample reveals a delta-9-THC concentration of more than 0.33% on a dry weight basis, the licensee’s entire crop with the same global positioning coordinates shall be destroyed in compliance with regulations promulgated by the department.
If a test sample reveals a delta-9-THC concentration of more than 0.3% but not more than 0.33% on a dry weight basis, the licensee’s crop shall be retested and if upon such retesting, the delta-9-THC concentration exceeds 0.3%, the entire crop with the same global positioning coordinates shall be destroyed in compliance with regulations promulgated by the department.

In March 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s hemp plan.

In March 2024, the General Assembly passed the Georgia Hemp Farming Act, and much of the bill went into effect on October 1. The law imposes a restriction that only consumers aged 21 and over can purchase consumable hemp products and requires retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers of consumable hemp products to obtain a license to operate and comply with other testing and regulatory requirements in Georgia. ‘Consumable hemp product’ means a hemp product intended to be ingested, absorbed, or inhaled by humans or animals.

Hemp Licenses Available in Georgia

Hemp Grower

You need a Hemp Grower license if you are an individual or business that wishes to grow hemp in Georgia. If you grow hemp and process it yourself, you need both a Hemp Grower license and a Hemp Processor permit.

Requirements:

You must provide proof of citizenship or legal residency when you apply for a license.
The system used to perform background checks requires fingerprinting take place at one of the approved locations in Georgia.
Application form should include the following information: your physical and mailing addresses; a valid phone number and email address; EIN and Certificate of Existence (for businesses only); deed/lease and property legal description; legal identification; valid email address; S&V (secure & verifiable) paperwork; annotated aerial map/image and GPS coordinates.

Fees and Terms:

Licenses are good through December 31 of the year they are issued.
The fee is $50 per acre you intend to cultivate (up to a maximum fee of $5,000).

Hemp Processor

You need a Hemp Processor permit if you are an individual or business that wishes to process hemp in Georgia, including hemp that you grow yourself.

Requirements:

You must provide proof of citizenship or legal residency when you apply for a license.
The system used to perform background checks requires fingerprinting take place at one of the approved locations in Georgia.
Application form should include the following information: your physical and mailing addresses; a valid phone number and email address; EIN and Certificate of Existence (for businesses only); deed/lease and property legal description; legal identification; valid email address; S&V (secure & verifiable) paperwork; annotated aerial map/image and GPS coordinates; surety bond (for processors only).

Fees and Terms:

Licenses are good through December 31 of the year they are issued.
The fee is $25,000 annually.

Consumable Hemp Retailer

Retail consumable hemp establishment license means a license issued by the department to an individual or business entity that prepares or sells prepackaged consumable hemp products to consumers.

Applications shall state:

The name of the applicant;
The business address of the applicant;
The complete telephone number and email address of the applicant;
The location where the applicant will sell or offer for sale consumable hemp products in this state and whether such location is owned or leased by the applicant; and
If the applicant is a business entity, the name of the owners, partners, members, or shareholders of such entity.

Fees and Terms:

Licenses are good through December 31 of the year they are issued.
The fee is $250 annually.

For a person to sell or offer for sale consumable hemp products to consumers at multiple retail locations, such person shall be required to obtain from the department separate retail consumable hemp establishment licenses for each such retail location.

Consumable Hemp Wholesaler

Wholesale consumable hemp license means a license issued by the department to an individual or business entity that sells, in bulk, prepackaged consumable hemp products to retail consumable hemp establishment licensees or to other retail establishments located outside of the State of Georgia that are authorized to sell consumable hemp products to consumers in the jurisdiction where such establishments are located.

Applications shall state:

The name of the applicant;
The business address of the applicant;
The complete telephone number and email address of the applicant;
The location of the facility where the applicant will store consumable hemp products and otherwise operate as a wholesaler of consumable hemp products in this state and whether such facility is owned or leased by the applicant; and
If the applicant is a business entity, the name of the owners, partners, members, or shareholders of such entity.

Fees and Terms:

Licenses are good through December 31 of the year they are issued.
The fee is $500 annually.

For a person to store consumable hemp products or otherwise operate as a wholesaler of consumable hemp products at multiple facilities, such person shall be required to obtain from the department separate wholesale consumable hemp licenses for each such facility.

Consumable Hemp Manufacturer

Manufacturer license means a license issued by the department under the authority to an individual or business entity that manufactures consumable hemp products or industrial hemp products in this state.

Applications shall state:

The name of the applicant;
The business address of the applicant;
The complete telephone number and email address of the applicant;
The location of the facility where the applicant will manufacture hemp products in this state and whether such facility is owned or leased by the applicant; and
If the applicant is a business entity, the name of the owners, partners, members, or shareholders of such entity.

Fees and Terms:

Licenses are good through December 31 of the year they are issued.
The fee is $5,000 annually. Any person who holds a hemp processor permit issued by the department shall not be required to pay
the annual licensing fee for a manufacturer license.

For a person to manufacture hemp products at multiple facilities, such person shall be required to obtain from the department separate manufacturer licenses for each such facility.

Testing Laboratory

Any person desiring to perform in this state tests or analyses of any plant within the genus Cannabis, including but not limited to hemp, or any product made or derived from such plant, including but not limited to hemp products and consumable hemp products, shall register with the department as a registered laboratory and pay a one-time registration fee of $250.00.

Applications shall state:

The name of the applicant;
The business address of the applicant;
The complete telephone number and email address of the applicant;
The location of the laboratory facility where the registrant will perform tests and analyses of any plant within the genus Cannabis or any product made or derived from such plant; and
If the applicant is a business entity, the name of the owners, partners, members, or shareholders of such entity.

Licensing Process:

Create an account.
Submit an application.
S&V paperwork.
Application review.
Background check.
Application approval.
Payment of fee.

What Hemp Products are Legal in Georgia

The sale or distribution of hemp contained in gummies or consumable base oils is not prohibited, provided that such gummies or consumable base oils are not a component of a food product.

No consumable hemp product shall be sold or otherwise distributed if such product constitutes or is a component of:
(A) A food product; or
(B) A drink or beverage that contains alcohol or constitutes an alcoholic beverage.

‘Food product’ means any product intended to be consumed by humans for physical subsistence; provided, however, that such term shall not include products that constitute drinks or beverages. ‘Gummy’ means a gelatinous substance in the form of a cube, sphere, prismatoid, ovoid, or other shape that is designed for human ingestion.

The testing requirements shall include, but not be limited to, certifying the presence and amount, in consumable hemp product’s final packaged form, of the following compounds: THC; CBD; CBDA; CBG; CBGA; CBN; HHC; and any other compound that the department determines is necessary to protect the health and safety of consumers; and certifying that the product, in its final packaged form, does not contain any contaminants in excess of the maximum levels established by the department.

Georgia Hemp Industry Stats

In 2020, 145 licenses were issued with about 1,450 acres intended for hemp production and 186 greenhouses, and there were 16 permitted hemp processors. In 2021, 156 hemp grower and 6 hemp processor licenses were approved; 130 acres were planted with about 80 acres harvested.

Georgia had 118 licensed hemp producers and one permitted hemp processor in 2022, equating to 4,333 field acres and 730,322 greenhouse square footage licensed for cultivation; 105 acres were planted with about 90 acres harvested.

In 2023, 111 producers were licensed to grow hemp in the state of Georgia, according to the latest USDA data; 70 acres were planted with about 60 acres harvested.

The USDA’s search tool shows 117 growers registered for the 2025 season.

Currently there are at least 80 hemp CBD stores in Georgia. In addition to being one of the largest hemp CBD markets in the U.S. – with Whitney Economics estimating that its total addressable market demand could be worth up to $1.14 billion – Georgia is also among the top ten states supplying hemp-derived products nationwide. According to a survey from Whitney Economics, 10.3% of U.S. hemp businesses identified Georgia as their source of hemp-derived products.

Georgia is also one of the states with the strongest demand for hemp beverages, along with Florida and Texas. Many consumers in the state have turned away from beer in favor of hemp beverages due to their intoxicating power but without the negatives of alcohol consumption. Beer comprises two-fifths of Georgia’s state revenue from alcohol and beverage taxes, so the state is very exposed to the negative trend in alcohol consumption. Switching to the growing hemp beverages market could help to offset this fall in tax revenue. Microbreweries have a particular interest in hemp beverages because they have canning lines with capacity and can add hemp beverages into their product line-up. One of such microbreweries has stated that hemp beverages will contribute at least 50% of their revenue for 2025 and project that in 2026, this will increase to at least two thirds of gross revenue. One investor in the alcohol industry believes that in 10 years, hemp beverages will surpass craft beer.

The president of the Hemp Beverage Alliance believes that Georgia can be the next big hemp beverage marketplace, after Minnesota.

While the hemp beverages market is still growing, the hemp CBD market in Georgia is dominated by gummies and vapes – many online hemp CBD retailers in Georgia list gummies and vape cartridges among their bestsellers, though hemp beverages have been climbing the ranks. This is supported by national trends – according to Forbes Health survey, 58% of US adults consume CBD through gummies and other edibles, followed by capsules, oils, and tinctures at 55%. In March 2025, Georgia-based Edible Brands announced the launch of edibles.com which is an e-commerce marketplace that will offer hemp-derived THC products from various brands. The website initially launched in Texas on March 20, 2025, and plans to expand into Florida and Georgia as well as open its flagship store in Atlanta in the second half of 2025.

The company’s CEO has stated that the new platform is part of an objective to attract younger customers – Gen Z and millennials. This places Georgia as the prime market for this exploration since 27.3% of its population are Gen Z and 20.6% are millennials, making them the two largest generational groups in the state. Many Gen Z customers are still below the age of 21 but will become active consumers in the hemp CBD market over the next couple of years. This means a rise in hemp CBD gummy sales as well as vape sales. One survey found that vaping is a Gen Z consumer’s second-most preferred way to consume CBD, following edibles and gummies.

Georgia Hemp Industry Infographics

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