With Democrats in control of the New York state Senate, a medical marijuana bill has for the first time been passed by a Senate committee. In previous years, medical marijuana bills had managed to pass in the House, but not in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The bill, S04041, passed the Senate Health Committee Tuesday. It must now pass the Senate Codes Committee before proceeding to a Senate floor vote. The identical House version of the bill, A7542, has been referred from the House Health Committee to the House Codes Committee.

Under the bills, New Yorkers suffering from a "serious condition" can be certified by a physician as benefiting from the use of medical marijuana. It also creates a registry program. Any patient or caregiver registered with the state would be able to possess up to 2 ½ ounces of marijuana and up to 12 plants.

With friendly leadership in both chambers, New York could become the 14th medical marijuana state. But time is running out -- the session has only about a month to go, and leaders have plenty of other issues on their plates.

Both the Drug Policy Alliance and the Marijuana Policy Project have been involved in pushing for the legislation.