ST. PAUL — Medical marijuana has not yet been snuffed out in Minnesota.

A Senate committee will consider a bill Thursday to legalize the use of marijuana to treat patients with certain ailments.

The hearing comes as hopes for legalization lay smoldering after advocates and Gov. Mark Dayton could not agree on the proposal’s contents.

Minneapolis Democratic Sen. Scott Dibble is sponsoring a bill that would allow licensed medical practitioners to prescribe marijuana to patients with maladies such as cancer, epilepsy and debilitating pain.

Those patients would receive a card enabling them to buy medicinal marijuana from approved dispensers, or patients could grow up to 12 plants themselves.

Heather Azzi, political director for the nonprofit Minnesotans for Compassionate Care, says the ban on medical marijuana is irrational and legalization is long overdue.