You would think that medical marijuana was contagious to hear Chicago aldermen talk about an appropriate zoning district for the location of its dispensaries. Instead of thinking so hard about where medical marijuana should not be available, aldermen should swallow hard, forget the foolish historic prohibition of marijuana and allow medical marijuana to be sold anywhere that other medicines are sold. Sick people are not benefited by making it inconvenient, if not difficult, to visit a business that will sell a substance that helps people suffering from cancer, chemotherapy, AIDS and other serious illnesses. [continues 53 words]
Areas Concerned With Visibility, Safety, Zoning As state officials enacted the rules that will govern the rollout of medical marijuana in Illinois, dozens of individual communities updated their zoning codes to determine where grow centers and pot stores can and cannot be located. Now, with the state poised to begin accepting applications next month for businesses and patients, many suburbs have moved from the theoretical to the concrete as they consider specific proposals from people who want to grow or sell legal marijuana within town borders. [continues 448 words]
Julie Falco was active in lobbying Illinois to legalize medical marijuana, a drug she credits with "saving my life" since she started eating pot brownies to treat to multiple sclerosis 10 years ago. Yet now that the state has enacted a medicinal cannabis law and just this month began distributing applications for would-be patients, the Chicago woman is still deciding whether to go through that process or simply continue to use the drug outside of the new legal channel. She's particularly concerned about having to submit her fingerprints to the state - Illinois is the only state that requires that of medical marijuana applicants - along with documentation of her Social Security disability insurance, proof of age and residency and a recent photo. [continues 883 words]
CHICAGO -- As Illinois' new medical marijuana program gets underway, potential patients, growers and retailers have questions. State officials plan to hold three town hall meetings across Illinois to provide answers, particularly about the application process, which starts next month. Multiple sclerosis patient Marla Levi of Buffalo Grove plans to apply for the required ID card so she can buy marijuana legally from a state-approved dispensary. She's found that the drug helps relieve the rigidity in her legs, she said. She wants to attend one of the meetings to get more information. [continues 220 words]
Seriously ill people seeking to use medical marijuana in Illinois can start filling out the application to belong to the program. Illinois officials on Friday posted the nine-page patient application online. Patients whose last names begin with the letters A through L can submit their applications from Sept. 2 to Oct. 31. Then patients whose last names begin with the letters M through Z can send in their information Nov. 1 through the end of the year, according to the application. [continues 335 words]
You'd think licensed dispensaries for medical marijuana were all-ages opium dens from the wariness bordering on paranoia with which state and local officials are grudgingly preparing for them to open. A year ago Friday, Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a four-year pilot program allowing patients suffering from specific maladies to obtain, with a doctor's OK, therapeutic doses of marijuana. The marijuana will be sold at dispensaries accessible only to patients. The state law required the dispensaries to be located at least 1,000 feet away from a "public or private preschool or elementary or secondary school or day care center, day care home, group day care home ... part day child care facility ... (or) area zoned for residential use." [continues 607 words]
You would think that medical marijuana was contagious to hear Chicago aldermen talk about an appropriate zoning district for the location of medicinal pot dispensaries (News, July 30). Instead of thinking so hard about where medical marijuana should not be dispensed, aldermen should swallow hard, forget the foolish historic prohibition of the substance they formerly indulged in exchange for the reward of constituent votes cut from the fabric of fear and instead allow medical marijuana to be sold anywhere that other medicines can be sold. [continues 75 words]
New Zoning Rules Allow Dispensaries All Through City, Not Just Fringes Chicago medical marijuana dispensaries are likely coming to busy shopping areas, despite the city's initial attempt to hide them away at the edges of the city. That means a medical marijuana dispensary could potentially open next door to a tony restaurant on Randolph Street or in River North near touristy fast food joints, according to new zoning regulations approved Tuesday by the Chicago City Council's Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards. [continues 582 words]
It may well be that health care providers in Springfield are mum on medical marijuana because of the potential liability associated with it. Just last week a Florida jury awarded Cynthia Robinson, whose husband died of lung cancer, $23.6 billion in punitive damages from R.J. Reynolds. Paving the way for the verdict was the state's Supreme Court's ruling making it easier to prove that Big Tobacco knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the hazards of cigarette smoking. The Court said that smokers and their families needed only to prove addiction and illnesses or death. [continues 89 words]
Children and adults who suffer from epilepsy could soon find relief in medical marijuana under a bill signed Sunday by Gov. Pat Quinn. During a ceremony at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the Democratic governor signed the law, which adds seizures to the list of conditions that can be treated with medical-grade cannabis. Quinn called it a "lifesaving law" and said medical marijuana could offer those suffering from seizures a "positive experience when it comes to daily living." "I think it's very important that we move forward and extend the opportunity for this important life-saving law to go to all those who need it," Quinn added. [continues 191 words]
A dangerous neighborhood. The threat of arrest - or worse. An unreliable product, sold by criminals. For seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana to ease their pain, paying for their treatment can be a "risky operation," according to multiple sclerosis patient Julie Falco. But if officials at Swedish Covenant Hospital get their way, medical marijuana users like Falco could one day purchase their cannabis at a hospital dispensary - just like a patient buying a dosed antibiotic or a powerful pain reliever at the hospital's pharmacy. [continues 501 words]
There's a medical marijuana law on the books in Illinois, but patients can't yet use the drug here legally. That's going to change soon. On Tuesday, lawmakers who make up the obscure but powerful Joint Committee on Administrative Rules are meeting in Chicago to discuss the rules that would implement the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. If the committee has no objections, the rules can officially be put to use, and the process to begin registering patients, dispensers and growers can begin. [continues 557 words]
Lawmakers are expected to finalize rules for medical marijuana in Illinois today, allowing people to start applying to be legal users as soon as September, officials said. Interested patients should start talking to their doctors now about qualifying for the drug, Illinois Department of Revenue spokeswoman Sue Hofer said. If the industry develops in Illinois as expected, patients likely would be able to buy their first ounces of legal "weed" by the spring of next year. The rules governing how medical marijuana can be grown, sold and used were proposed this spring by the state agencies involved in overseeing agriculture, financial and professional regulations, health and revenue. [continues 330 words]
SPRINGFIELD -- In a sign Illinois' new medical marijuana law could be a gold mine for investors, a politically connected Glenview attorney is hoarding pot-related company names in hopes of cashing in if the business takes off. Sam Borek, a former college roommate of the lawmaker who sponsored the state's new law, says he reserved the company names to either sell them to others, or to start his own companies. Included in his list of at least three dozen potential corporations and limited liability companies are Illinois Medical Marijuana Sales Inc., Illinois Cannabis Realty Inc. and Cannabis Medical Centers of Illinois Inc. [continues 678 words]
MONMOUTH - A proposed medical marijuana growing facility near Roseville does not require the support of local officials, but a Warren County landowner looking to start up the business could still benefit from it. Other cultivation center applications are expected within Illinois State Police District 14, but only one license may be granted by the state under the medical marijuana law signed by Gov. Pat Quinn in 2013. The law - considered by some to be the most restrictive medicinal cannabis act in the nation - allows one growing location per district. ISP District 14 encompasses Warren, McDonough, Henderson, Fulton and Hancock counties. [continues 393 words]
Take our word on this: Chicago politicians know best whether their constituents will accept a medical marijuana dispensary next door. You wouldn't know that to hear the wailing in the Legislature over a bill that would let Chicago decide for itself where newly legal medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers may open. A state law that went into effect Jan. 1 permitting those facilities says cultivation centers must be at least 2,500 feet away from homes and schools and dispensaries must be at least 1,000 feet away. [continues 142 words]
As the rules for a state medical marijuana pilot program are being finalized, a group of proponents announced Thursday that a cannabis conference will be held at Navy Pier in June. A handful of people - including a doctor, a consultant and the vice president of a nonprofit - are trying to improve the drug's image and increase awareness of its medical benefits with the hope that the four-year pilot program expands in scope and duration. "Don't be shy. It's OK to talk about marijuana - cannabis," said Amish Parikh, vice president of My Compassion, the Michigan-based nonprofit that is hosting the June 7-8 conference. "If you respect the law, the law will stay. We're trying to teach that as well." [continues 481 words]
I am writing about the pot production plant that is proposed for Delavan. As a former mayor of Washington and retired pharmacist, I can only see this creating a hazard health-wise and safety-wise for the community. The air would be filled with marijuana pollen and dust. Workers there could cause an influx of addicts and criminals. How would you treat the water runoff? This drug weed is not approved by the FDA or much of the medical community. We will have some of the best, most fertile land in and around Delavan polluted and spoiled for the future. Don Gronewold Washington [end]
It's Cautious On Use Of The Drug For Kids Unless As A Last Resort, And Proposes More Research CHICAGO - With virtually no hard proof that medical marijuana benefits sick children, and evidence that it might harm developing brains, the drug should only be used for severely ill kids who have no other treatment option, the nation's most influential pediatricians group says in a new policy. Some parents insist that medical marijuana has cured their kids' seizures or led to other improvements, but the American Academy of Pediatrics' new policy says rigorous research is needed to verify those claims. [continues 525 words]
