RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation authorizing marijuana for medical use in North Carolina and developing a system to grow, sell and regulate cannabis is back on the front burner in the Senate.

The rules committee approved the measure Wednesday, nine months after it last surfaced.

The first floor vote is expected Thursday.

The measure would allow patients with at least one of the more than a dozen “debilitating medical conditions” to purchase and use marijuana with their physician’s formal approval.

The bill envisions medical cannabis centers operated by state-licensed growers and vendors.

Any measure also would have to pass the House, where action appears unlikely this year.