MEDFORD, New York – Grimacing, Donna Schwier rubs her left calf and looks out the window of her small basement-level apartment, tucked around the back of a suburban Long Island home. Outside, tree limbs are sagging under heavy new-fallen snow. That’s a concern, since cold and moisture exacerbate the fibromyalgia that has robbed Schwier of her career, her income and her identity.

“Today’s a reasonable pain day,” she says. “I am fresh out of opiates, though.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday recognized that the state’s slow moving medical marijuana program is not “perfect,” but said he’d rather err on the side of caution than move it along too quickly.

Eighteen months after signing the Compassionate Care Act into law, the state’s medical marijuana plan went into effect last month.

Advocates, who have long complained that the program is to restrictive, say that the lethargic roll out has resulted in large geographical areas not being served and have look to expand the program.

At a press conference in Dunkirk, Cuomo defended the program.

SOTUHAMPTON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — The Shinnecock Indian Nation has voted in overwhelming support of a proposed medical marijuana facility on its tribal land on Long Island’s East End.

The proposed plan would include the development of medical marijuana cultivation and dispensary facilities, owned by the Shinnecock Nation, under designation of New York State, according to a statement released by Shinnecock officials on Wednesday.

The Shinnecock-owned operations would work in compliance with New York’s new medical marijuana program, with revenue from the project going to fund day-to-day tribal operations.

Why Is It So Hard To Test Whether Drivers Are Stoned?

Law enforcement officials would love to have a clear way to tell when a driver is too drugged to drive. But the decades of experience the country has in setting limits for alcohol have turned out to be rather useless so far because the mind-altering compound in cannabis, THC, dissolves in fat, whereas alcohol dissolves in water.

he Shinnecock Indian Nation will grow and process medical marijuana, as well as build a dispensary on reservation land by the end of the year, pending approval from the state, tribal officials said this week.

The tribe’s general council on Saturday passed a measure that allows the tribe to pursue state designation as a medical marijuana provider, and also construct both a cultivation facility and a dispensary on the reservation.

The vote was approved 71 percent to 29 percent.

The Shinnecock Indian Nation has approved two resolutions that will allow the tribe to move forward with an outside developer to cultivate and sell medical marijuana.

In a 83 to 34 vote Saturday, the tribe approved an ordinance paving the way for development of cultivation and dispensary facilities on the tribe’s Southampton reservation. The tribe also voted 80 to 34 to approve working with an outside firm to help develop and finance the enterprise, said Bryan Polite, chairman of the tribal trustees, the nation’s governing body.

People in our community are stepping up to help a man battling cancer who needs medical marijuana.

Jude Mariner is asking her friends for donations to help pay for Bill Sharp's medical marijuana expenses.

"My family is, they're the most incredible people I know," says Sharp. "They've uprooted their lives to move back into my house to help take care of me."

Sharp's family has been with him throughout his battle with stage four cancer. Friday, he's getting help he didn't expect from strangers.

The Williams’ son Tommy has a rare form of epilepsy and needs medical marijuana to control his seizures.

When the emergency access bill was passed, they thought they’d be first in line, but now, almost 3 months later, they’re still waiting.

Tommy needs a specific type of oil, with certain levels of CBD and THC.

Both dispensaries in Erie County told the Williams family they don’t have the specific strain they need.

They said it will take up to four weeks of growing, then harvesting, processing, and state inspection until it’s ready.

Despite having an ID card to purchase it, the Williams are out of luck.

New York's medical marijuana law, known as the Compassionate Care Act, launched just last month, but has been the target of harsh criticism since Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it in July 2014. Now, Albany's biggest advocate for legal medical marijuana, Manhattan Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, has introduced legislation to improve the program.

Physicians Yield In Depth Look at Medical Marijuana in Clinical Practice

Plainview, New York - Continuing Marijuana Education (CMEd), a division of New Century Health Alliance, LLC., receives approval from the Academy of Medicine of Queens County to offer 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ for its in depth program, Medical Marijuana in Clinical Practice. The first ever live, nationally certified, comprehensive program in New York State will be featured on February 27th, 2016 at the Hilton New York JFK Airport. Attendees who participate in this CMEd activity will leave with the broad understanding of the benefits of medical marijuana, its appropriate application to multiple disease states, and the risks associated.