[JURIST] Georgia Governor Nathan Deal [official profile] signed House Bill 1 [text] on Thursday to legalize medical marijuana in the US state of Georgia. The approved legislation is effective immediately and allows for patients suffering from cancer, Crohn’s disease, glaucoma and other serious ailments to receive 20 fluid ounces or less of low-THC cannabis oil. Additionally, HB 1 calls for the immediate repeal of conflicting laws. The bill is known as Haleigh’s Hope Act [CNN report], named for a 5-year old Georgian girl that suffered from hundreds of seizures per day before she began using cannabis oil to treat her condition. Deal stated the administrative framework for doctors and patients [Atlanta Journal-Constitution report] should be in place within the next two months, but it remains illegal to cultivate cannabis oil in one’s home.

The legal use and sale of marijuana [JURIST backgrounder] for both medical and recreational purposes has become a controversial issue in the US with a number of states contemplating various legalization initiatives. Earlier this month the Arizona Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] in two separate decisions that courts cannot prohibit parolees from using medical marijuana when used for medical purposes under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA). Last month Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman filed a brief urging the US Supreme Court to throw out a lawsuit [JURIST report] by Nebraska and Oklahoma challenging Colorado’s marijuana legalization law. Last November voters in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington, DC, voted [JURIST report] to legalize recreational marijuana. In September the Pennsylvania State Senate approved [JURIST Report] legislation that would legalize several forms of medical marijuana. In July Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation [JURIST report] that will allow adults and children suffering from seizures access to medical marijuana. Last April the Maryland House of Representatives passed a bill [JURIST report] to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.