New York officially launches marijuana as a form of medical treatment Thursday, becoming the 23rd US state to do so as the taboo surrounding its legalized medicinal use starts to shift.

Under the legislation, five companies are authorized to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes in the state, but only one -- Bloomfield Industries -- has set up headquarters in New York City itself.

From the outside, its premises are an inconspicuous warehouse in an industrial zone of Queens, with shabby walls, boarded up windows and an entrance partially obstructed by concrete slabs.

Surrounded by other warehouses, next to the highway and with no security guard nor police officer in sight, the building is home to a 23,000 square meter plant dedicated to growing marijuana.

Touted as a wonder drug for the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain, medical marijuana use is exploding among Canada’s battle-scarred, fully insured, veterans and companies are rushing into the untapped market.

He has served in one capacity or another in seven conflicts, killed and captured countless enemy fighters and was a founding member of Canada’s top-secret counterterrorism unit, Joint Task Force 2.

But Kevin Whitenect, 48, is coming out of the shadows for his newest mission: that of “brand ambassador” for a Toronto-based medical marijuana company, CannaConnect.

ALBANY — State officials will formally launch New York’s medical marijuana program on Thursday and at least one city pot dispensary expects to be ready.

“New York State's Medical Marijuana Program is scheduled to launch on January 7, 2016, just 18 months after Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act,” Health Department spokesman James Plastiras said in an email to reporters late Monday afternoon.

“More information and details on the program will be released shortly,” Plastiras added.

By Alison McMahon

My mom was recently diagnosed with cancer for a second time and I happily helped her get a prescription for medical cannabis. Going through this with her made me realize there are a number of barriers to access. She found the process overwhelming and complicated. I believe she wouldn't have actually got a prescription if I hadn't been there to help her. So what exactly are the barriers?

1. Lack of information about how to get a prescription

When my mom found out she had cancer, she told her family doctor that she "wasn't doing this again without medical marijuana." The physician maintained a straight face and said nothing. Not particularly helpful.

By Steven Maxwell

Recent scientific studies regarding the use of cannabis (marijuana) and its healing powers are further disproving the government’s biased and inaccurate stance against its medical use. The government refers to marijuana as a “gateway” drug to harder substances and schedules it along side them even though it has proven to be safer than alcohol.

The battle for Cannabis legalization still continues. Many people in the 21st century are making the move from prescription drugs to marijuana. In fact, more and more people are also choosing marijuana for a recreational purpose, too, as a better alternative to chemical drugs.

A recent survey conducted by the Berkeley Patients Group and found that 66% of their medical marijuana patient clients reported using marijuana as a prescription drug substitute. Most patients said they used marijuana because it was more effective than their prescribed drugs and was accompanied with fewer, and less severe, side effects.

ALBANY -- New York plans to have its medical marijuana program operating in early January.

There’s just one glaring omission: The state Department of Health hasn’t released a list of doctors who are registered to write medical-marijuana prescriptions.

“It’s a real problem,” said Julie Netherland, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group. “We get calls from patients every day wanting to know how they can get a physician to help them, and in the absence of any kind of public list, there’s nothing we can do to assist.”

The health department on Dec. 23 launched its system for severely ill patients to enroll in its medical marijuana program, which will provide the drug in non-smokeable forms.

A New York company is preparing to market what it says is the world’s first kosher-certified marijuana.

The Orthodox Union has certified Vireo Health of New York’s non-smokable medical marijuana products, Vireo announced in a news release Wednesday. Vireo is one of five medical marijuana providers selected to participate in a New York state medical marijuana program that goes into effect next month; none of the others will be certified kosher.

Pittsburgh may be ready to decriminalize marijuana for recreational use, but a new survey suggests local physicians hold widely varying views when it comes to their willingness to prescribe marijuana for medical use, even if it were legal.

Of the 97 physicians responding to a recent Allegheny County Medical Society survey about half said they would prescribe and half said they wouldn’t, although some who opposed noted that prescribing marijuana would not apply to their specialty.

“More research is required,” one unidentified physician wrote in comments attached to the survey.

“It is utterly ridiculous to do anything other than legalizing and regulating it like we do alcohol and cigarettes,” said another who supports legalizing medical marijuana use.

Marijuana has been used as a healing herb since it was discovered, and while the ancients may have had some inkling that it did something to you, thanks to science we now know what its effects are, down to the very molecules and pathways that are affected.  In the brain, getting buzzed comes down to (mostly) inhibiting neurotransmitter release.  Immune cells don’t get buzzed, but odd things happen nonetheless: histones are modified, meaning that changes to the DNA of these cells are made permanent for subsequent generations. These changes to the DNA alters the expression of inflammatory markers, decreasing them (mostly) and shortening the survival rate of immune cells.