“My hope is that in 2018 we can fill the gaping hole that still remains, and provide legal access to medical cannabis oil here in our state with a safe, lab tested product produced within our own borders,” Peake wrote. “The job will not be finished until we accomplish this task.”

The newly signed law is the result of a compromise between legislative chambers that keeps the maximum allowable percentage of THC in the form of cannabis oil to 5 percent. THC is the component in marijuana that makes people high. State senators originally proposed decreasing the limit to 3 percent, despite no state public health officials or law enforcement agencies reporting issues with a higher percentage.

As of Tuesday, 1,738 patients in Georgia and 354 doctors have registered with the state to use and administer medical marijuana.