Illinois will begin its first medical marijuana sales within the next two weeks and public sentiment ranges from cautious to elated.

State officials said Thursday that required ID cards are being mailed this week to 3,200 approved patients. Lab testing of legally grown marijuana has started. A half-dozen retail shops are licensed and ready.

It will be a big moment for the 2-year-old pilot program. Patients will finally get a chance to buy a drug legally that some admit they now purchase on the black market.

Some say they will drive long distances to buy their first legal weed. Neighbors worry about loitering and crime. Police plan extra patrols when the first dispensaries open.

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI – An attorney claims prosecutors pressured state police crime labs to change the way THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is reported in an effort to circumvent Michigan's medical marijuana law.

Michael Komorn alleges scientists were told to report an unknown origin for THC contained in oil, wax or perhaps a brownie if no visible plant material was present. The THC would then be declared a synthetic substance rather than marijuana – turning a misdemeanor pot charge to a two-year felony.

MUNDELEIN, Ill. (AP) - Patients say they will drive long distances to buy their first legal weed. Neighbors worry about loitering and crime. Police plan extra patrols in towns where dispensaries will sell, for the first time, medical marijuana in Illinois.

Public sentiments range from cautious to elated as Illinois prepares to join more than a dozen states that allow medical marijuana sales. There is still no official start date in Illinois, but Joseph Wright, director of the state’s pilot program, said Thursday that sales should begin “within the next two weeks.”

As 27-year-old veteran Jose Martinez ambled on his prosthetic legs, a crutch tucked under what remains of his amputated right arm, a stranger approached him.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” the man said.

“I lived, sir,” Martinez replied. “I’m walking. I’m talking. I’m living. Don’t feel sorry for me. I’m not supposed to be doing any of this stuff right now.”

Just two years ago, after both of his legs and right arm were blown off in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED, Martinez was doing none of these things. 

“Cannabis is just a guide. I was fortunate to have it to direct me where I needed to be.”

CHICAGO (AP) - The road to legal medical marijuana in Illinois began more than a decade ago, when proponents first began pushing legislation in Springfield. After many defeats, a law establishing a pilot program was approved in 2013.

Here are key dates since the law was passed:

Aug. 1, 2013: Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, signs the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, making Illinois the 21st state allowing marijuana for medical use. The law authorizes a four-year pilot program that expires at the end of 2017.

July 15, 2014: A legislative committee approves the program’s rules for patients, growers and retailers. Public comments from patients, entrepreneurs and city officials helped shape the rules.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York state will require physicians to complete an educational course before they can authorize medical marijuana for patients - an unusual mandate not applied to other new drugs or seen in other states with medical marijuana programs.

State officials say the 4½-hour, $250-online course will inform doctors about a complex drug treatment not covered in medical school. But while the investment of time and money is modest, some patient advocates worry the inconvenience could discourage physicians from participating, ultimately limiting patient access.

ATLANTA -- The men and women who fight illegal drugs for a living say that if Georgia is going to allow the in-state growth of medical cannabis, the state needs to keep a lid on it.

"We do oppose all cultivation" of cannabis, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson, president of the Georgia Sheriffs' Association, said at a state hearing in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Sheriffs had also opposed the new law this year that allows some Georgians to possess a kind of liquid medicine derived from cannabis.

State law enforcement officials said Wednesday that any expansion of medical marijuana in Georgia will need extensive regulations to protect patients and to be sure the system isn’t exploited.

GBI Director Vernon Keenan and others said if the state makes marijuana broadly available for medical reasons it should mirror federal pharmaceutical law that requires extensive testing and monitoring of controlled substances.

Keenan and leaders of the state sheriffs’ association told members of a special commission studying the issue that doing otherwise will lead to abuse.