The legalization of medical marijuana in Illinois could soon be a possibility, as the Illinois House of Representatives prepares to vote on the issue next week.

If passed, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act will allow qualifying patients under medical care to buy and use up to 2.5 ounces of medical marijuana every a two-weeks.

The bill would be the most restrictive medical marijuana law in the nation. Illinois would also be the second most populous state to have passed a medical marijuana bill.

The bill’s sponsor, Skokie Democrat, Lou Lang, who has headed the effort to pass the bill for three years, said he thinks that he can finally pass a medical marijuana bill out of the House.

Overall, laws against marijuana have been softening nationwide. Currently 18 states and the District of Colombia allow the use of medical marijuana. Recently, Washington and Colorado have legalized marijuana for recreational use.

The Illinois bill is written so that a patient would have to obtain a written medical note from their regular doctor stating that he or she suffer from at least one of around 30 different diseases. The diseases can include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and several kinds of pain syndromes.

If the bill is passed on Tuesday in the House of Representatives, it would then go to the Illinois Senate, which passed a less restrictive bill on medical marijuana in 2010.

“The time may be right for passage in Illinois. Lawmakers in the past told him that they favor the bill but couldn’t vote for it for political reasons,” Lang said in an interview.