No sooner had Gov. Andrew Cuomo put down his pen after signing the bill to allow medical use of marijuana than Holly Anderson and her staff at the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester picked up their phones.

“We started to get some phone calls from people in the community who wanted to know what’s next, how long will it take,” said the executive director of BCCR. They came not just from people with cancer, but individuals with fibromyalgia, HIV, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses where not only the condition but the side effects of treatment can cause unrelenting pain or discomfort.

Anderson said BCCR had planned to host a forum in its cozy suite on University Avenue about the Compassionate Care Act and figured now it needed a bigger place. The free panel discussion Medical Cannabis: Politics — Science — Truth is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday in the theater at Monroe Community College Building 4.

Read more at Democrat & Chronicle: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/08/25/next-medical-marijuana/14542877/