DOVER -- Delawareans with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating diseases could be legally using marijuana a year from now to alleviate the effects of their ailments. DOVER -- Delawareans with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating diseases could be legally using marijuana a year from now to alleviate the effects of their ailments.

The Senate on Wednesday sent Gov. Jack Markell legislation that would decriminalize marijuana possession, use and distribution for limited medical purposes.

The Senate's final vote came after an extensive lobbying effort that began in January with a visit to Legislative Hall by celebrity talk show host Montel Williams, who uses marijuana to ease the debilitating effects of MS.

With Markell expected to sign the bill soon, Delaware would have one of the strictest medical marijuana laws in the country, regulating everything from the quality of the cannabis to how it is transported. Fifteen states, including New Jersey, already have medical marijuana laws on the books.

"There is no other bill like the bill we just passed here in Delaware," said Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry, a Wilmington Democrat who was the bill's sponsor.