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Georgia Agriculture Commissioner pushing for 5 bills to bolster state’s hemp industry

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Georgia Agriculture Commissioner pushing for 5 bills to bolster state’s hemp industry


ATLANTA — Hemp products are growing in popularity across the country, and with that illegal items are showing up in local businesses and can be dangerous for children.

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper spoke with Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne to discuss what his focus on the state’s hemp industry.

“We want a thriving hemp industry in our state, but we gotta ensure we’re protecting consumers, protecting children,” Harper said.

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He says there is a high priority on getting a handle on certain hemp products that can make people high, including some being sold as Delta-8 that can include illegal levels of THC.

Harper, a farmer who supports the legal hemp industry, is pushing five hemp-related bills in the Georgia legislature.

An official with the Georgia Department of Agriculture says every one of the products purchased in an undercover operation conducted at Georgia gas stations, smoke shops and other businesses are suspected of being over the legal limit for Delta-9 THC.

They say one of those products had more than 19% THC, which is almost 60 times the legal limit.

“Under the law, hemp is 0.3% THC or less,” Harper explained.

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Earlier this month, Channel 2 Action News reported on a Spalding County mom said her third-grade daughter had to be treated by paramedics after eating some pineapple gummies infused with THC at school. She was diagnosed with an accidental cannabis overdose.

Georgia Poison Center Executive Director Gaylord Lopez told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna that they have received more than 200 poison calls about Delta-8 issues and most of them are about children.

State Senator Randy Robertson says he is backing one of the bills. He says the main objective is to “make sure that the hemp products that are being sold in stores around the state of Georgia are safe and contain exactly what the stores say they contain.”

Senate Bill 437 would allow Harper’s office to seize and destroy products that aren’t compliant with the law.

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State Senator Bill Cowsert says the bill is going through some tweaks in committee, but will require lab testing by an approved lab and has labelling requirements.

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Four Middle Georgia teens charged for murder of Crisp County 20-year-old, GBI says

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Four Middle Georgia teens charged for murder of Crisp County 20-year-old, GBI says


Four teenagers are facing multiple felony charges for the murder of a 20-year-old man in Cordele last month.

On Friday, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced the arrests of 17-year-old Bianca Armani King-Knight, 17-year-old Kaylee Posey, and 19-year-old William Troy Posey all from Crisp County and 19-year-old Trenton Donnell Lane from Wilcox County, in connection to a shooting that left one person dead and another injured on the 1000 block of Dayton Road.

The GBI identified the victim as Correnthian Jeremiah Cooks, 20, who died at a local hospital after being found shot on around 6:45 p.m. on June 27. While the other male victim received treatment and was later released.

All four teenagers were charged with one count of felony murder and three counts of aggravated assault on June 29 and are currently being held at the Crisp County Jail.

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The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is urged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Americus at (229)-931-2439, the Cordele Police Department at (229) 273-3102 or submit an anonymous tip online.

Stick with WGXA as we learn more and keep you ready for what’s next.



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“Operation Southern Slow Down” returns to target speeding drivers across Georgia and Florida

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“Operation Southern Slow Down” returns to target speeding drivers across Georgia and Florida


Heading out on the road for a little summer vacation? Law enforcement agencies across the South have a warning: Slow down or face consequences.

The ninth annual “Operation Southern Slow Down” will run from July 13 to 19 across Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

All five states and local law enforcement agencies will be taking part in the speed enforcement and awareness campaign, which officials say is designed to prevent crashes and save lives by reminding drivers of the dangers of speeding and reckless driving.

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During the time period, drivers will see more law enforcement on roads across all five Southern states.

Last year’s operation ended with nearly 53,000 citations and warnings for speeding, 2,230 for reckless driving, and over 3,000 for violating distracted driving laws. Over 1,400 drivers were arrested on DUI charges, including 501 in Georgia.

“Operation Southern Slow Down” began in 2017 in an effort to reduce crashes and save lives. Federal crash data shows that speed was a factor in one out of five fatal traffic crashes in Georgia from 2020 to 2024. A 2023 report by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety found that over half of those killed or seriously injured in multi-vehicle crashes where speed was a factor were not the speeding driver.

“Unsafe driver behaviors like speeding are a major contributor to fatalities and serious injuries on our roadways,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared W. Perdue, P.E. “Remember that your actions behind the wheel can have life-altering impacts: slow down and drive responsibly to help get everyone to their destinations safely.”

Authorities say drivers should always wear a seat belt and make sure to give others who are traveling at high speeds on the roads plenty of space.

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Georgia cops’ alleged misuse of Flock license plate tracking data fuels privacy concerns

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Georgia cops’ alleged misuse of Flock license plate tracking data fuels privacy concerns


At least ten police officers across Georgia have been arrested and charged with misusing the Flock camera database for personal reasons, adding to growing privacy concerns about the technology.

The cameras, usually mounted to a black pole, record license plates and other data of whoever passes them.

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Georgia police database tracking

What we know:

A series of recent arrests has exposed the misuse of Flock license-plate-reading cameras by police officers throughout the state.

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In Greene County, Deputy Quin’sha Goss was fired on Tuesday and charged with misusing the system.

The recent arrests include five police officers in Albany, who were also charged earlier this week.

That’s alongside a lieutenant, a sergeant and a deputy in Cherokee County charged last month with violating their oath.

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System audits flag searches

What they’re saying:

Flock Co-founder Paige Todd stated that many recent arrests resulted from departments utilizing a new audit assistance tool that automatically flags unusual searches.

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“In this case where misuse happened, the technology itself was not creating the misuse. It was it was human beings,” Todd told FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo.

Todd argued that the public safety benefits of the technology heavily outweigh individual instances of human misconduct.

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Todd explained, “best way to prevent misuse is now, every member of law enforcement out there knows that this audit exists,”

Todd added that the system has successfully helped track down thousands of individuals across the country. 

“We, I believe, solve about a million crimes with our technology,” she said. “10,000 missing people have gone home because of it. This feels like pretty small in comparison.”

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Privacy concerns trigger pushback

The other side:

The ACLU of Georgia called the incidents a critical wakeup call regarding constitutional protections and tracking limits. Christopher Bruce of the ACLU of Georgia said, “Jeopardizing your civil rights and civil liberties is never just an unfortunate event. You have constitutional rights, especially a right to privacy. And the question is who polices the police?”

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Information security analyst Peter Tran noted that the network relies heavily on automated data collection.

“It uses AI,” Tran said.

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Tran said many are uneased by the logging searchable personal data into a nationwide database.

“It becomes a privacy and security issue. So, you’re whereabouts where you shopped, your name, your address,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Dunwoody sets ‘guardrails’ for Flock surveillance cameras use

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The blowback has prompted dozens of U.S. communities to end their contracts.

Videos have circulated on social media instructing people how to tear them down or disable them.

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In Barrow County, the sheriff said three Flock cameras were recently damaged there.

The sheriff said damage to the devices could be considered a felony. 

The Source: The information in this story is based on original reporting by FOX 5’s Rob DiRienzo, who interviewed Flock co-founder Paige Todd, ACLU of Georgia representative Christopher Bruce, and security analyst Peter Tran, as well as tracking data from local sheriff offices.

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