ALBANY, N.Y. -- Desarae Little has been on a journey. It started in 2007 when she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease causing constant pain. She was prescribed a number of opioids, with the dose steadily increasing.

“It started off low and then it goes high, and more and more hours of your life slip away, and you don't really realize it until you're sleeping 16 hours a day,” says Little.

The opioids became too much and Little began seeking an alternative. Her fiancé suggested medical marijuana.

“I'm able to hike, ride bikes, swim -- all things I couldn't do before -- and walk up and down a flight of stairs, and I'm not bed-bound,” explains Little.

Little was never addicted to her medication. But with the opioid epidemic continuing to grow, lawmakers hope medical marijuana will stop pain and potential addiction. They have introduced a bill that would allow medical marijuana to be an alternative to opioids.

“This is just another caveat that we can use in order to treat some people that might be afflicted by the opioid epidemic,” says State Senator Terrance Murphy.

If the bill introduced Thursday passes, medical marijuana could be prescribed to treat episodic pain expected to last fewer than three months. It would serve as an extension of the state’s Compassionate Care Act, which allows the use of medical marijuana as treatment for life-threatening diseases and chronic pain. Companion legislation has been introduced in the Assembly.