Medical use of marijuana or cannabis was legalised in Alabama on Monday after GOP Governor Kay Ivey signed a related legislature into law making the state 37th to approve of the change.

However, the law continues to restrict the consumption of marijuana through smoking while permitting oil, creams and gummies. A commission would also be established to regulate the use and distribution of cannabis, reported CNN.

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Ivey recognised the efforts of Tim Melson and Mike Ball, both state-level lawmakers, for drafting and sponsoring the proposed law which addressed “legitimate concerns”.

In a statement, the 76-year-old Republican leader emphasised the medical benefits of cannabis and acknowledged how it can “improve the quality of life of those in their final days”, reported CNN.

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Similar efforts around the use of cannabis have been made by multiple states like Virginia and Mississippi recently. Possession of marijuana will be legal in the state of Virginia after July 1 while a medical marijuana program was inducted by the residents of Mississippi during the elections in November 2020.

The newly signed law will permit doctors to prescribe the use of marijuana to tackle health conditions like epilepsy, chronic pain, cancer and other terminal ailments.