Top policy makers in the German government have agreed on plans to allow prescriptions for medical marijuana for seriously ill patients, according to an announcement by the German health ministry.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Tuesday, Health Minister Philipp Roesler said the plan could be carried out by a simple change in the ministry's policy, and that no change in German law was necessary.

He added that because many other European countries already allow medical cannibis, the process in Germany could go "quickly in comparison."