Jeffrey Friedland speaking with Kevin McGovern about his book, Marijuana: The World's Most Misunderstood Plant, and the future of the marijuana industry.

Ella Turkington, 5, has intractable epilepsy and autism. Her parents Kim and Rob Turkington administer cannabidiol (CBD) oil in conjunction with her pharmaceuticals — as more families are experimenting with pediatric cannabis — to treat her epilepsy. Photograph by: Tiffany Crawford , Vancouver Sun

Mention Taylor Swift and five-year-old Ella’s eyes light up like the Christmas tree in the corner of her Surrey living room.

The tree scrapes the ceiling, and Ella is eager to play with the decorations, but her parents have set up a barricade so she can’t reach the branches.

That’s because the young girl has severe epilepsy and autism, and, although she is nearly six, the cognitive ability of a toddler.

What have you been up to now?  Banning medical marijuana in Coronado?  Have you no souls, no decency, no sense of compassion?  As as cancer victim, I could not use medical marijuana if I had wanted to because it wasn’t legalized until after my cancer.  If my cancer recurs, I want to be able to avail myself of the law that passed in 1996.  Prop. 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, has brought relief to many, many cancer victims, AIDS patients, the injured, the burned and the dying.  I can tell you I’d have tried it in 1995.  I hear it beats puking in a bucket all day.

New York's state Department of Health is now allowing New York-based Americans to gain access to its recently approved medical marijuana program which is set to be launched at the start of next year.

To facilitate and ease the process of registration for eligible enrollees, the local health agency also set up a corresponding online system.

The program came about after the state legislature legalized the establishment of such program but included some important pre-requisites for would-be enrollees such as getting a health department certification from a duly-registered physician before applying for state registry identification card.

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.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has signed legislation into law regulating the licensed production and exportation of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

Under the new policy, those seeking to grow medicinal cannabis commercially or manufacturer cannabis-based medicinal products may apply with government agencies for licensure. Regulators will also grant permits to those seeking to export medicinal cannabis products out of the country.

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.