Gov. Deal to Sign Medical Cannabis Bill Into Law

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Gov. Nathan Deal will sign into law a bill which will decriminalize the possession of medical cannabis oil for Georgians with specific medical conditions.

HB 1, or the Haleigh’s Hope Act, will get Deal’s signature around 11 a.m. Wednesday, WSB-TV reports. Deal said that he wanted to wait until the Georgia General Assembly had wrapped up before signing the bill into law.

Despite the delay, Deal penned an executive order in late March commanding state agencies to make provisions for the imminent decriminalization.

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Deal’s executive order applies to the Georgia Composite Medical Board and the Georgia Department of Public Health. The directive asks the medical board to start work on a patient waiver and physician certification form, which will then be available to eligible patients through the department of public health.

Deal has stated that he supports measures meant to increase patients’ access to medical marijuana while preventing its recreational use, and expressed a desire to see a decriminalization bill put on his desk so that he could sign it into law.

The Georgia House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an amended version of HB 1 in March, with only one dissenting vote cast. HB 1 was approved in an amended form by the Georgia Senate.

Some conservative legislators in the upper house gave the bill a cool reception, but senators were able to come to a compromise, WSB-TV said. The amended version of HB1 removes fibromyalgia from the list of conditions cleared for cannabis oil and placed tougher restrictions on the percentage of THC allowed in the oils.

Children and adults who suffer from Lou Gehrig’s Disease, cancer, Chron’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell, mitochondrial disease, seizure disorders, and Parkinson’s Disease will all be eligible to possess up to 20 ounces of medical cannabis oil when the bill becomes law.