The drugs are marketed as incense, herbal mixtures or potpourri to mask their actual purpose, the state says. They carry such street names as Spice, K2, Green Giant and Smacked.

ALBANY — The state is smoking out new variants of synthetic pot after a rash of hospitalizations statewide related to the dangerous product.

Gov. Cuomo’s Health Department is set to expand a 2012 regulation that banned a whole range of synthetic cannabis-like products and bath salts.

Manufacturers have found ways around the ban by using different chemical combinations not referenced in the 2012 regulation that created even stronger compounds, Cuomo says.

Five coveted spots up for grabs as medical marijuana gets off the ground.

The nine-acre greenhouse outside Rochester leased by the Compassionate Care Center of New York is fully operational: It has temperature control and irrigation, and produces flowers, vegetables and, soon, with any luck, marijuana.

It will be no trouble to produce carefully engineered strains of medical marijuana by January, said Lewis Goldberg, a spokesman for the company. That's when the state's Department of Health has pledged to have New York's cannabis program up and running.

THE Peckham women are your typical attractive, well-educated New Yorkers from a wealthy construction dynasty.

But the family has had its share of sadness, most recently when Frances Keeffe, mother of Amy Peckham and grandmother to Hillary and Keeley, died two years ago after a painful battle with Motor Neurone Disease.

It was soon after that tragedy that Amy made a bold suggestion to her daughters — they should go into the marijuana business.

The women had the money, thanks to family business Peckham Industries, a titan of road construction and maintenance with a 92-year history. They also had determination and an eagerness to help people living with chronic illnesses.

New York’s medical marijuana program is about to achieve liftoff, but so far New Yorkers have few clues as to who will grow the herb, process it and sell it in a non-smokable form.

Despite all the hurdles — such as the fact that marijuana is illegal under federal law — 43 companies have applied for state Health Department licenses to sell pot products. A decision on five licensees could come any day now, though companies competing for the licenses say they remain in the dark about how far along the process is.

One of them is Etain LLC of Katonah, Westchester County. Etain’s proposal calls for a greenhouse growing facility in Chestertown, Warren County, with dispensaries in Kingston, Yonkers, Albany and Syracuse.

The Schenectady County Legislature voted Tuesday to support an application by Fiorello Pharmaceuticals to build a medical marijuana cultivation center in Glenville.

Owned by Ari Hoffnung of the Bronx, Fiorello Pharmaceuticals is one of 43 applicants seeking five licenses to operate medical marijuana dispensaries under New York's Compassionate Care Act. A decision is expected soon.

Last month, hundreds of visitors mingled outside three conferences being held side by side in New York City’s massive Javits Center. Sharing lines for lattes with their neighbors from the Salesforce and International Franchise Expo meetings down the hall, attendees of the Cannabis World Conference & Business Exposition could only have been picked out of the business-casual crowd by a careful observer thanks to one detail: the green accents on their name badges.

A look at the latest in potrepreneurship.

Last month, hundreds of visitors mingled outside three conferences being held side by side in New York City’s massive Javits Center. Sharing lines for lattes with their neighbors from the Salesforce and International Franchise Expo meetings down the hall, attendees of the Cannabis World Conference & Business Exposition could only have been picked out of the business casual-crowd by a careful observer thanks to one detail: the green accents on their name badges.

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Two more companies seeking state licenses to grow medical marijuana have announced plans to open dispensaries in the Syracuse area and one of them is promising free medical pot for patients who cannot afford it.

Citiva Medical, a company that wants to grow medical marijuana at the former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus and open a dispensary in Cicero, said it will set aside 2 percent of its annual profits to help patients in need pay for their medical marijuana.

A company planning to grow medical marijuana in Seneca County has unveiled plans to offer aid to help families purchase the drug. 

Citiva Medical, which was founded by Colorado medical marijuana pioneer Josh Stanley, announced its intent to donate at least 2 percent of its net income to Strains of Hope, a non-profit organization established by Stanley, to assist patients pay for medical marijuana treatment. 

The contributions to Strains of Hope will at least partially cover the costs of medical marijuana prescriptions for families who can't afford the drug, which typically isn't covered by health insurance plans and could cost as much as $250 a month.