However, a bill must still pass through the state House and is expected to meet opposition from lawmakers who fear abuse of the drug.

If the bill were to pass through both the Senate and the House it could still be shot down by Republican governor Tim Pawlenty who has expressed concerns with the bill.

Similar bills have passed through the state Senate in the past but were halted when they couldn’t get enough votes in the state House.

Currently 13 states legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, but a number of states are considering measures that would increase that number.

Yesterday the New Hampshire senate passed a bill that would allow the drug to be used by patients who receive approval from a physician and the state. Unlike the Minnesota bill, the New Hampshire legislation has already passed through the state House, meaning the two bodies will need to negotiate on the bill before sending it to the governor’s desk.

The New Hampshire Union-Leader reports that in a 14-10 vote today the New Hampshire Senate passed the bill which would allow patients to have two ounces of the drug and six marijuana plants if they receive approval from a doctor and the state.

A similar bill has already passed through the state House and will require the two state bodies to negotiate on which bill to send forward. New Hampshire governor John Lynch has already said he would like to see distribution of the drug limited to hospices and hospitals, according to the paper.

New Hampshire is one of a number of states considering the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use.

Today a Pennsylvania state representative Mark Cohen introduced a bill that would allow the use of the drug for medical purposes in that state.

“The only thing blocking this bill’s passage is the old image that marijuana has from the 1930s,” Cohen said, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. “It’s time to create a new image, as a form of treatment that, when prescribed by responsible doctors, could help thousands of patients in Pennsylvania.”

Last week U.S. district judge George Wu postponed the sentencing of Charles Lynch until June 2, giving the lawyers in the case time to file briefs.

Lynch was convicted under federal law but was not charged for a state-related crime, which may give Wu the opportunity to offer leniency in the case.

Last month, attorney general Eric Holder announced that federal agents would only conduct raids on marijuana distributors if they violated state and federal laws. However, it’s unclear if his statements will play a part in previous cases, like Lynch’s.

In the courtroom, Wu said he didn’t believe Lynch should face the mandatory minimum of five years in prison but indicated that he had no ideas of how to give a lighter sentence.

“If I could find a way out, I would,” said Wu.

Last week a California man had 12 pounds of marijuana returned to him from police after he was acquitted on pot-related charges last month.

According to a blog post on The Hill’s website, Virginia senator Jim Webb has indicated that he may be open to the decriminalization of marijuana or perhaps the legalization of the drug.

In an interview last week with CNN, the Democratic senator said the totality of the drug policy should be scrutinized.

“I think they should examine every aspect of drugs policy to see what’s working and what’s not working, and where the consistencies are and, quite frankly, where the inconsistencies are in terms of how people end up in the system with similar activities,” he told the news outlet.

Webb points out that in the last three decades, the number of people in prison for drug charges has skyrocketed and told CNN that the majority of those people behind bars because of “possession crimes or minor sales.”

Some have said that legalization of marijuana could also bring in tax dollars during these tough economic times.

In a bill presented to the state legislature, California assemblyman Tom Ammiano said taxes on the drug could bring in more than $1 billion into the state.

That’s because a judge ruled last week that police were to return the medical marijuana they had confiscated from Richard Daleman after he was acquitted last month on charges of growing and selling the drug.

Daleman, who uses the drug as treatment for chronic pain, said the majority of his stash was there, and said the police had done a proper job of storing the drugs for him as it showed no mold growth.

“There were about 3 ounces missing,” he told the Visalia-Times.

Although Daleman was acquitted on March 27, it took almost a month for him to get his drugs back, something that clearly angered the 61-year-old.

“Ridiculous. They’ve got all these guys down there, and it seems all they do is go and buy doughnuts - and you can quote me on that,” Daleman told the paper. “I got sick of it. I told them I was going to come and get it.”

It’s likely that raids like the one conducted on Daleman will happen less often during the Obama administration. Last month Attorney General Eric Holder announced that raids would only occur if both state and federal laws were being broken.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, legendary guitarist Carlos Santana said the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. is long overdue.

“Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education,” Santana said in an interview this week. “You will see a transformation in America.”

The musician also showed his disdain for California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saying that by decriminalizing marijuana the state could “afford a really good governor who won’t keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send [Schwarzenegger] back to Hollywood where he can do ‘D’ movies and we can get an ‘A’ governor.”

Last month California assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposed a bill to the state legislature which would legalize the drug and bring in more than $1 billion per year to the state in taxes and fees.

But that number may actually be a low estimate according to others in the marijuana industry. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, a marijuana legalization advocacy group, told AFP earlier this year that legalization of the drug could bring in up to $20 billion per year in California.

Bob Redden says he was assured by his doctor that he was doing nothing illegal by using medical marijuana to treat the pain he suffers from bone disease and two deteriorating hips. But that didn’t appear to be the case Monday when Madison Heights police broke through his front door with a battering ram.

“They stole my plants and my money,” Redden told the Detroit News. “We are devastated. The door is torn up. They treated me like I was a criminal. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I was assured by my doctor this medical marijuana was going to help and they assured me this is legal.”

But police acknowledge they are unclear on how to enforce the state’s recently enacted medical marijuana laws.

“We don’t know what the rules are,” Madison Heights police chief Kevin Sagan told the Detroit Free Press. “This is a new situation for all of us.”

However, police and other officials in the state are quick to point out that they will prosecute those who do not have the proper identification cards.

“If you do not legally possess a Medical Marijuana Card as contemplated and mandated by law, and you are growing or possessing marijuana, you will be prosecuted,” Midland County prosecutor Michael Carpenter told the Saginaw News.

Michigan’s medical marijuana system will differ from the one being used in California in that there will be no public dispensaries.

Instead, those who can prove they have a chronic illness like HIV or some types of cancer will receive a card which will allow them to grow up to 12 plants on their own or choose a “caregiver” to provide them with the drug.

But police in the state fear the legalization will create larger problems down the line.

“I think what we’ve done here is taken the pot needs of a small segment of the population and blew the door wide-open to lots of others,” George Basar, president of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police told the Chicago Tribune.

Frederic Murphy, a professor at the Temple University school of business, says that if the drug were legalized in an American city like Philadelphia, it would likely be a boon to the local economy.

“If marijuana were legalized in the city and not elsewhere, it would be highly profitable for growers and distributors,” he told Metro. “This creates a real opportunity for very steep taxes that would help balance the city budget.”

But Murphy points out to the news provider that if pot were legalized in the rest of Pennsylvania, the benefit to the city would disappear as city wage taxes would likely force growers and distributors out of the city limits.

California state assemblyman Tom Ammiano has suggested that his state legalize the drug in an effort to close the enormous budget gap. In a bill brought before the legislature earlier this month, Ammiano said the legalization could bring in as much as $1 billion per year in tax revenue.

But Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the marijuana advocacy group NORML, said the number could be closer to $20 billion.

A bill proposed in the Illinois House’s Human Services Committee would allow people with debilitating diseases to use marijuana if they are able to receive permission from a doctor.

But critics of the bill say marijuana is a gateway drug and fear that the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes will lead to the abuse of the drug.

“It is the number one drug that introduces young people to other drugs,” Republican representative Patricia Bellock said, according to the Associated Press.

The bill will now head to the full Illinois House where it is expected to face numerous challenges. However, Democratic representative Lou Lang, the sponsor of the legislation said it is a “difficult but not impossible bill to pass.”

Late last month the New Jersey Senate passed a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state and in December Michigan became the 13th state in the country to allow the drug to be used for medical purposes.