It looks like after more than a year since its legalization, New York will have its first medical marijuana clinics opening within the city. However, due to some obstacles in its implementation, advocates are concerned that medical marijuana use would be somewhat slow to take off.

The International Business Times reported last January 4, 2016 New York's medical marijuana program will finally be underway this January, more than a year after New York State legalized marijuana for medical use with the passage into law of the Compassionate Care Act in July 2014. But advocates are concerned because New York has a stricter program than those of the 23 other states that legalized medical marijuana. Under the law, doctors will be required to complete a four-hour online course costing US$249 and then register with the New York State Department of Health. Patients with prescriptions will then need to apply online to receive the registry identification card needed to purchase medical marijuana.

The Guardian reported that eight dispensaries began operations this Thursday, January 7, 2016. The first dispensary run by the Columbia Care medical marijuana company opened in Manhattan's Union Square. Under the medical marijuana program, New York licensed five organizations to make and sell medical marijuana. But cannabis in the form of tinctures, concentrate for vaporization or ingestible capsules are allowed; smokeable and edible marijuana remains prohibited. Each organization will be allowed to operate four dispensaries each all of which are expected to be running by the end of January.

Rueters characterized New York's medical marijuana program as one of the most conservative and tightly monitored programs in the United States. The program is strictly limited to patients with very serious and terminal illnesses, including cancer, HIV and AIDS, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. It noted that California has hundreds of dispensaries, many with neon light signage with display cases packed with smokeable buds. Medical researchers and academics, though, received New York's restrictive approach more positivel, saying that state's tight controls over prescribing, dosing and other aspects of the program will allow more reliable study of the efficacy of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana is designed to help ease symptoms of patients suffering from cancer, AIDS and other serious conditions.