Instead, a sluggish process of awarding marijuana licenses to six companies has stalled indefinitely amid protests filed by several losing businesses.

Georgia lawmakers said this week they’re trying to find ways to break the stalemate created by a marijuana licensing law they passed more than 2½ years ago. They’re considering introducing bills that would provide access to over 20,000 registered patients who are allowed to use medical marijuana but have no legal way to obtain it.

“Bureaucracy is for the birds. I want to get people help today or next month,” state Rep. Rick Williams, a Republican from Milledgeville, said during a hearing Monday. “Nothing will tear your heart out more than to have your child hurting and going through this stuff. We’ve got to do something.”

Georgia’s medical marijuana board in July chose six companies out of 69 applicants to grow and distribute the medication to registered patients. Then 15 losing companies filed protests that must be reviewed by an administrative hearing officer before licenses can be issued. Lawsuits could follow, causing further delays. [Read more at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]