In November 2015, Cuomo approved speeding up the process to allow for the program to start providing patients access to medical marijuana in January 2016.

The New York State Department of Health has launched its online Medical Marijuana Patient Certification and Registration System.

But there is doubt among some patients and their caregivers that the state will be able to handle the demand for the drug and that the dispensaries will open on time.

Another important element is falling into place for Illinoisans to begin using medical marijuana: A University of IL at Chicago lab has obtained state approval to do safety and potency testing.

NY State Department of Health launches online medical marijuana registration

Qualified New Yorkers can now enroll in the state's upcoming medical marijuana program online.

Registration is now open for patients looking to buy medical marijuana in New York State.

Concerns have recently been raised about the state giving patients enough time to get certified to get medical marijuana, which will be available in non-smokeable forms for patients with specific illnesses.

The five manufacturing facilities are in Queens; Rochester; Fulton County, near Amsterdam; Warren County, in the North Country; and Orange County, in the Hudson Valley.

If you have severe illnesses, you can now start enrolling in the New York State's Medical Marijuana Program. The objective is to get access to the treatment in the beginning of next month. However, patients have said that they have been already struck with a major roadblock.

A multiple sclerosis patient Susan Rusinko said that she has no idea about whether her specialist can provide her with what she requires. She said that she doesn’t have any appointment with her neurologist before January 18, and even on January 18, she has to check out whether he is registered or not.

Anything can happen, and before that, physicians must be registered at the New York State Department of Health.

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) - Registration is now open for patients looking to buy medical marijuana in New York State.

Dispensaries, including two locations in Western New York are set to open on January 5th. Patients need certification from a registered doctor and will need to access the online system to apply for a registry identification card.

But there is doubt among some patients and their caregivers that the state will be able to handle the demand for the drug and that the dispensaries will open on time.

The state Health Department on Wednesday launched its system for patients to enroll in New York’s medical marijuana program.

Patients who get certified by a physician registered by New York will be able to go online to enroll in the program, allowing them to buy medical marijuana when it is expected to become available next month.

The state has targeted early January for five manufacturers to open 20 dispensaries around New York.

It's been nearly eighteen months since Governor Cuomo signed legislation to legalize medical marijuana, and with only a few weeks left before the Compassionate Care Act is due to take effect, the five companies licensed to grow and sell cannabis are rushing to meet the deadline. 

It wafts down the pavement, an unmistakable stench more Haight-Ashbury than New York — the tang of marijuana smoke in the city’s streets. If the smell (and the lightheadedness a passer-by may feel) is anything to judge by, lighting up and strolling around seems increasingly common in pockets of Brooklyn, on side streets in Manhattan and in other public spaces.

Street smokers say they are emboldened by laws that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana in other parts of the country and by the relatively low-key rhetoric of New York’s leaders, including the police commissioner, about the drug.

ALBANY – New York health officials and the manufacturers say they are on track to start providing medical marijuana to critically ill patients next month.

Questions remain, however, over whether doctors and patients will be enrolled in the system quickly enough to make the drug available by the Jan. 5 target date.

"There's no sign of a system in place yet for patients. That's a major concern," said Julie Netherland, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group. "We get calls from patients every day wanting to sign up, and we have to tell them we don't know yet."