MEXICO CITY - The Mexican Senate has overwhelmingly passed a bill approving the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The Senate says in a statement summarizing the debate that the measure directs the Health Department to "design public policies to regulate the medicinal use of this plant and its derivatives."

The legislation now goes to the lower Chamber of Deputies for consideration.

Under the bill, cultivation of marijuana plants for medical and scientific purposes would also be authorized.

It also would establish that industrial products with concentrations of 1 percent THC or less would be legal to buy, sell, import and export.

The bill was approved Tuesday on a vote of 98-7, with one abstention.