Gov. Brian Kemp, Micah Gravley and other state officials celebrate after the signing of House Bill 324. The bill gives patients more access to medical marijuana.

Gov. Brian Kemp, Micah Gravley and other state officials celebrate after the signing of House Bill 324. The bill gives patients more access to medical marijuana. / Georgia Public Broadcasting

Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation Wednesday giving patients in Georgia more access to medical marijuana.

House Bill 324 allows for the in-state cultivation and sell of the drug, low THC oil, which has been legal here since 2015. But there hasn't been a way to get it, until now.

"It will be like anybody else going to the drug store and being able to purchase medicine for their children,” Jim Wages said.

Wages said his daughter has a medially resistant form of epilepsy that used to cause two to five seizures a week.

Since using medical marijuana, she’s down to one.

"Her cognition and spacial awareness is off the chain,” he said. “Before, she was so lethargic she didn't even know she existed."

Right now, around 8,400 people in Georgia are on the state’s registry to use medical marijuana.

Rep. Micah Gravley (R- Douglasville), who sponsored the bill, called Wednesday’s signing historic. He, along with other elected officials, thanked former Gov. Nathan Deal for starting the journey, but vowed this wouldn’t lead to legalizing recreational marijuana.

Tags: HB 324  Governor Kemp  medical marijuana  Brian Kemp  Atlanta  Georgia  Macon  Savannah