Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed New York's medical marijuana law Monday, making it the 23rd state in the country to legalize medical marijuana.

Joining Cuomo when he signed the law was 10-year-old Amanda Houser of Suffern. Houser suffers from seizures due to a rare form of epilepsy. Houser is one of thousands of people with chronic illnesses in New York who will benefit from the new law.

The new law gives legal access to patients to consume marijuana through pills, tinctures or vapors. The law forbids the use of smokeable marijuana. The treatment will be available under a physician's supervision to patients suffering from illnesses including cancer, epilepsy and AIDS.

The law goes into effect in 18 months. Its critics claim marijuana is hazardous to patients' health.