Medical marijuana stakeholders have a lot of questions

[The title was written by my editor.]

Patients, growers, potential dispensary owners, and entrepreneurs, all totaling almost 300, packed a town hall meeting Wednesday in Chicago to ask questions about the state’s new medical cannabis pilot program.

by John Tyburski

Copyright © Daily Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

First published at Daily Digest News on August 20, 2014

It is one thing to legalize medical marijuana, but it is another thing to actually create the sale and distribution system. Illinois state officials Wednesday fielded questions from a packed house of future patients and entrepreneurs interested in investing in the new pilot project. Illinois only recently decided to experiment with allowing the use of marijuana, or cannabis, for medical purposes.

The program is scheduled to begin allowing approved patients to purchase medical cannabis in the spring of 2015. However, a number of challenges must first be overcome, including the licensing of growers and dispensaries as well as how growers can legally obtain seed stock. Oddly, an answer to the latter question, among others, has yet to be decided.

State officials answered what questions they could, ranging from technical questions relating to growing procedures and prohibitions to constitutional matters such as whether a dispensary owner can also be a customer.

Some questions from the attendees were related to the state’s licensing procedure. A business license in the pilot program costs $25,000, and that is about the only clear certainty in the whole process. The business applications are due by September 22 and require submission of fingerprints, tax returns, and detailed business plans. Applicants must also agree to background checks.

“What we are looking for is the best plan you can give us,” said Ray Watson, general counsel for the Illinois Department of Agriculture. “We do not want to restrain the creativity of the industry.”

A candidate business entity may apply for a permit that will allow them to open and operate up to five dispensaries and three growing centers. The state will allow a total of 21 growing centers and 60 retail dispensaries, making the completion for permits fierce. State regulators will select which applicants will receive permits.

The move toward medical marijuana in Illinois and across the U.S. proceeds amidst controversial science on whether cannabis use is safe.