Carroll County Sheriff's Office investigators knocked on Corey Varner's door at 1390 N.E. Hickory Level Road on Nov. 11, intending to question him about a neighbor suspected of burglary.

When Varner answered the door, however, police reportedly smelled Marijuana and asked him about the odor.

�He admitted that he had at least an ounce in his house. He also said he had recently smoked Marijuana, Investigator Telisha Gibson said.

That information, considering an ounce of Marijuana is a felony amount, along with Varner's prior drug distribution conviction, gave a judge enough probable cause to grant a search warrant.

Authorities returned to Varner's residence the same day around 7 p.m. to search the home. They found approximately 16 pounds of Marijuana along with $6,097 and a handgun, Gibson said.

Varner was arrested and charged with trafficking Marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the attempt to commit a felony.

“This is only the fifth time in three years that we have made a local arrest for Marijuana trafficking, Gibson said. It's not very common.

Though trafficking charges may not be common, Gibson said she deals with the distribution of Marijuana regularly, the only difference between the two being a weight distinction.

Georgia state law requires a person to possess 10 pounds or more of Marijuana before they can be charged with trafficking, and any amount less than 10 pounds is considered distributing.

For other illegal drugs like Methamphetamine or Cocaine, however, the required amounts for trafficking are much lower, starting at 28 grams.

That may be based on the value of the product based on their weight, Capt. Shane Taylor said. One pound of Marijuana will cost between $1,000 and $2,000. A pound of Cocaine could cost around $15,000 or $20,000.

Also, Taylor said the state Legislature may consider Marijuana to be less severe than other drugs, even though it is a often gateway drug to other types of narcotics.

Other states like South Carolina and Alabama have lower weight requirements for Marijuana trafficking charges with more severe penalties.

In South Carolina for example, a Marijuana trafficking charge involving less than 10 pounds carries up to a five-year sentence with a $5,000 fine. In Alabama, 2.2 pounds of Marijuana is the requirement for a trafficking charge which carries a minimum of three years in prison with a mandatory $25,000 fine.

Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama trafficking laws all follow an interval system, imposing different penalties for different amounts, but Georgia's intervals are considerably large compared with the other two states.

The bottom tier of South Carolina's trafficking charges deals with any amount less than 10 pounds. The second tier ranges from 10 pounds to 100 pounds.

Alabama's bottom tier ranges from 2.2 pounds to 100 pounds.

Georgia's lowest tier starts with 10 pounds and goes to 2,000 pounds, which is the largest amount covered by either of the other states.

The penalty for trafficking between 10 pounds and 2,000 pounds in Georgia is a minimum of five years in prison with a $100,000 fine, the category into which Varner falls.

South Carolina's top tier, ranging from 100 pounds to 2,000 pounds, requires a minimum of 25 years in prison with a $25,000 fine. Alabama law mandates that any trafficking amount higher than 1,000 pounds carries a life sentence without parole.

There is a big jump there in weights, fines and penalties, Taylor said. The penalties are not as severe as you would hope for.

State Rep. Mark Butler, R-Carrollton, said he agrees the law needs to change.

'There has been some discussion about lowering the number,' Butler said. I can't imagine any opposition there would be to it.

Though Butler cited specific conversations about amending the law, he said there is not a current bill outlining the change.