The bill would make it a crime to transport hemp plants without paperwork showing it was produced under a farming or processing license. Violators would face up to a year in jail or a $1,000 fine for possession of less than an ounce — the same penalty as misdemeanor marijuana.

The House Agriculture Committee approved the legislation on a voice vote, with two representatives opposing it. The measure, House Bill 847, could soon receive a vote in the full House and then be considered by the state Senate.

The proposal comes after the General Assembly approved hemp farming last year, allowing people to grow and manufacture the plant used to make CBD oil, a popular health product that’s currently imported to Georgia from other states. Hemp contains less than 0.3% THC, the compound that gives marijuana users a high.

Prosecutors and police said they need a way to enforce marijuana offenses after several metro Atlanta cities and counties stopped making arrests for low-level marijuana offenses. [Read More @ The Atlanta Journal Constitution]