Medical Marijuana Quality Assessment
IN PHOTO: Director of Quality Assurance Thomas Shipley prunes dry marijuana buds before they are processed for shipping at Tweed Marijuana Inc in Smith's Falls, Ontario, April 22, 2014. By unlocking the once-obscure medical marijuana market, Canada has created a fast-growing, profitable and federally regulated industry with a distinct appeal to the more daring global investor. About a dozen producers of the drug will find themselves in the spotlight this year as they consider going public or prepare to so through share sales or reverse takeovers to capitalize on recent regulatory changes, investment bankers said. Tweed Marijuana Inc, which converted an old chocolate factory into a marijuana farm, led the pack by becoming the first publicly held Canadian company in the sector. Picture taken April 22, 2014. Reuters/Blair Gable

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has signed a bill on Thursday legalising the use of medical marijuana in the state. At the same time, the governor is creating a research program and working on a registration process for the drug.

“For the families enduring separation and patients suffering pain, the wait is finally over," Deal said on Thursday. After two years of legislative battle involving lawmakers, health officials and medical marijuana supporters, the bill has finally been approved.

The new law, which is sponsored by state representative Allen Peake, allows people to possess 20 ounces of cannabis oil, which should not contain more than 5 percent of the active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. The law approves medical marijuana use for nine medical conditions as reported in WSB-TV Atlanta, which include cancer, seizure disorders and multiple sclerosis.

The bill is also known as Haleigh’s Hope Act, named after recent patient Haleigh Cox, who is in need of the treatment. Haleigh had several episodes of seizures in one day and was given five drugs to control her condition. However, such drugs did not help improve her condition.

According to CNN, her mother, Janea Cox, said in an interview in March that moving her daughter to Colorado was difficult, but it is the best option since medical marijuana is legalised there and not in Georgia. With Deal having signed the bill, Georgia is now the 36th state, including Washington, D.C., to permit the use of medical marijuana.

Possession of the substance is still considered a crime under federal law. It is still unclear as to how people can get access to the oil since it is illegal to grow marijuana in Georgia.

In addition, transporting oil from a state that legalises marijuana is also considered a federal crime. Georgia legislators are still trying to work on this issue in the months to come.

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