DES MOINES | The Iowa Senate will move a medical marijuana bill before the end of the 2014 session, Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Thursday.

Gronstal has agreed to sign off on narrowly crafted legislation to permit the use of cannabis oil for seizure disorders.

He and House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said the lobbying efforts by mothers of children with seizure disorders, often associated with epilepsy, have kept the issue alive.

“We think there are mothers who have come to the Capitol with tragic stories, difficult circumstances for their kids, who have made a very compelling case that certain elements of marijuana, cannabis oil -- nothing to smoke, can dramatically impact the health and welfare of their children,” Gronstal said.

Paulsen couldn’t say whether the Legislature will act this session, which he said could end as early as next week, but said the mothers’ lobbying effort has changed minds.

“I encouraged them … that they continue to dialogue with the members,” Paulsen said. “I complimented them. I think they have clearly grabbed (our) attention.”