Despite the Governor of Puerto Rico signing an executive order to legalize medical marijuana this past Sunday, smoking marijuana for medicinal related purposes will not be allowed in the U.S. territory.

Talking about the move towards legalized medical marijuana, Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said, as reported by the Associated Press, Puerto Rico was “taking a significant step in the area of health that is fundamental to our development and quality of life."

Announcing that they would soon provide further details regarding the governor’s executive order, government officials made it clear that cannabis derivatives could be legally consumed in other ways.

As reported by the Associated Press, Justice Secretary Cesar Miranda explained the Puerto Rican government would still allow patients access to cannabis derivatives that could then be inhaled or taken in orally, saying: "Smoking marijuana is not being contemplated as part of a medical treatment."

The uses of medical marijuana extend from simple pain management to combating the symptoms associated with HIV.

Whether or not Garcia supports smoking pot to treat illnesses remains unclear, as he did not specify in his executive order what method of medical marijuana uses he favored.

Medical marijuana is currently legal in 23 U.S. states.

New York, which is one of the states that allows for the medicinal use of marijuana, has stipulated that the cannabis user cannot smoke the drug.

Amanda Reiman, the New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, described to the AP the problems this restriction creates, saying: "A lot of patients prefer to inhale the cannabis than take it orally.”

"If they have to take it only through a pill, it can be very difficult to tell what the right dose is ... It's pretty short-sighted to take away that method that most patients rely on to figure out how cannabis affects them," she adds.