New York's medical marijuana program moved one step closer to closer to completion on Thursday when state official proposed regulations on the issue, CBS New York reported.

The program was approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo based on a law passed in July. Beginning in 2016, it is expected to allow patients with certain diseases to buy non-smokable versions of the drug, which can also be ingested or vaporized.

"The state will issue five licenses and each registered organization will be allowed to operate up to four dispensaries," Terence O'Leary, the state's deputy secretary for public safety, told the WCBS 880 radio station.

Conditions that would qualify under the new regulations include AIDS, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's Disease, multiple sclerosis, certain spinal cord injuries, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies and Huntington's Disease, CBS New York enumerated.

The state's medical marijuana dispensaries will not be allowed to operate within 1,000 feet of schools or churches, the New York Daily News pointed out, unless they are located around the block. The buffer zone is similar to requirements imposed by the state Liquor Authority with respect to alcohol licenses.

The proposed guidelines deal with all aspects of the production and sale of medical marijuana, the newspaper said. That includes how organizations that grow and dispense the drug will register and be controlled; how doctors will prescribe marijuana; and what patients will need to do in order to be certified. "It spells out how the drugs can be cultivated, dispensed and tracked," the New York Daily News summarized.

An unnamed aide told the newspaper that the system aims to meets the needs of patients while ensuring the marijuana will be not made available to the general public. Patients, for example, would be issued identification cards with security features to prevent copies and curtail potential third-party use. Physicians who want to participate in the program, meanwhile, would be required to participate in a four-year training program designed by the state Department of Health, the newspaper added.