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Doubts persist as New York prepares to dispense medical marijuana

Albany says its online registration system for medical marijuana is ready. However, many have questions about how the system will actually work.

To apply, a doctor has to certify that a patient would benefit from the drug. It's not clear how many doctors have been trained to prescribe the drug and it's not clear if all five suppliers will be ready statewide to dispense the drug on January 5.

Daniel Ryszka is a pharmacist and parent of two children he says need the marijuana desperately and knows how he would see it administered.

"For my children, the oil is the best. For some patients, the liquid might be the best. Oral capsules would be more socially acceptable for some patients," Ryszka explained. 

"But, for the children, mine are non-verbal. They are in wheelchairs. They are fed through a feeding tube. So, an oil would be the best to get it into their system."

Governor Cuomo had ordered the system speeded up to get the drug out there but Ryszka says he doesn't know if anyone has been able to work the system to get the drug, in any form.

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.