Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has exercised his pen-wielding hand to officially sign the state’s medical marijuana pilot program into law, which supporters are claiming is the strictest of its kind in the entire nation.

The law in question doesn’t take effect until January 1, 2014, but rule making for the medical marijuana pilot program isn’t slated to be completed until the end of April 2014.  So, even though Governor Quinn has signed the bill, it could be as late as next summer before qualifying patients can legally access a supply of marijuana.

Once the program is up and running, registered patients will ideally be able to state-legally access a supply of medical marijuana from one of 60 state-authorized distribution centers that will obtain their stock from one of 22 state-certified marijuana cultivation centers located throughout Illinois.

The powers that be still have some issues to hash out before they even start issuing dispensary and cultivation center licenses, so although this is a positive step in the right direction, individuals waiting for the program to officially begin will have to deal with the typical political hogwash that accompanies these types of legislation.

Editorial note: This article was originally published on The 420 Times on August 1, 2013.