The North Carolina Senate has passed Senate Bill 711, the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act, which would allow patients with a range of medical ailments to use medicinal marijuana. Violators would be subject to felony prosecution.

By a vote of 35 to 10, Senate Bill 711 was approved in North Carolina on Thursday. The proposed legislation will next be considered by the House of Representatives.

Those over the age of 18 who meet the bill’s criteria for medicinal marijuana usage would be granted a permission to use cannabis.

Patients suffering from conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), HIV, Parkinson’s disease, and Crohn’s disease would be eligible to use medical marijuana under the provisions of the NC Compassionate Care Act.

Licensed dispensaries would only be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with no exceptions. It is expected that the rules would be exceedingly strict. Among other things, these firms would be prohibited from using cannabis leaves in their logos, selling merchandise (free or otherwise), or sponsoring any community events.

Currently, North Carolina and Nebraska are the only two states in the United States that do not approve the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. All 48 other states have authorized medicinal marijuana in some way.