​Legislation that would legalize the physician-approved use of medical marijuana has been reintroduced in the Illinois Legislature.

House Bill 30 , the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, would allow qualified patients to possess and grow marijuana for medical reasons.

Similar legislation was approved by the Senate, but narrowly defeated by the House in the previous session (it lost by only four votes).

“What we have to do now is wait for the new session to start, introduce a new piece of legislation and start over,” bill sponsor Rep. Lou Lang had said after the previous bill was defeated.

HB 30 is now before the House Rules Committee

Fifteen states — Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, along with the District of Columbia, have enacted laws protecting medical marijuana patients from state prosecution.