Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jul 2013
Source: Northwest Herald (IL)
Copyright: 2013 Northwest Herald Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.nwherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2762
Author: Stephen Di Benedetto

AREA COMMUNITIES WAITING ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Communities throughout McHenry County are waiting to see whether Gov.
Pat Quinn will legalize medical marijuana before making revisions to
their respective zoning codes that would regulate it.

Some officials in Huntley, Lake in the Hills and other areas have even
expressed doubts on whether they would want to attract the handful of
marijuana dispensaries and cultivation centers allowed under the bill
awaiting Quinn's signature.

The lone exception is Fox Lake, which already has changed its zoning
code that regulates where and how a marijuana dispensary would operate.

"Nobody on the board opposed it," Fox Lake Mayor Donny Schmit said.
"Everyone has either had a friend or family member with cancer or some
other illness, so nobody opposed the concept of medical marijuana. We
didn't want to wait to the very end and scramble and not be prepared
for it."

Fox Lake's proactive approach to a bill that other communities haven't
even contemplated was a product of opportunity, Schmit said. The board
was in the process of updating its zoning code, and members felt it
would be wise to include regulations for medical marijuana.

Any potential marijuana dispensary in Fox Lake would be classified
"manufacture" and located away from the more-populated downtown and
residential areas.

The village's regulations are in line with the bill's provisions that
require any local government to create zoning rules to regulate the 22
cultivation centers and 60 dispensaries that would be geographically
scattered throughout the state.

Local governments are required under the bill to keep either facility
between 1,000 feet to 2,500 feet away from schools, day-care centers
and residential areas.

Municipalities also would not be able to prohibit the cultivation or
distribution of medical marijuana in their communities. The provision
already has drawn some complaints from Chicago-area suburbs that fear
they would not be able to deny the few dispensaries and cultivators
allowed in the bill.

But in McHenry County, most communities aren't even discussing the
bill that would make Illinois the 20th state in the nation to legalize
medical marijuana.

Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley wouldn't entertain a discussion on
any of the bill's provisions until it becomes law. The City Council
already has adopted a resolution that instructs Crystal Lake's
Planning and Zoning Commission to craft regulations only after medical
marijuana becomes legal.

Quinn has said he is open-minded to the idea of legalizing the illicit
drug for medical use, but has not indicated when he would make a decision.

The bill allows people with debilitating conditions, such as cancer,
muscular dystrophy and Tourette syndrome, to receive 2.5 ounces of
marijuana every two weeks, with a doctor's prescription.

"We haven't begun the discussion," Shepley said. "I think the issue is
not ripe for the discussion at this point. No person should be
required to do something that may later be unnecessary."

Nearby Lake in the Hills adopted a similar resolution earlier this
year. Dan Olson, the village's community development director, said
Lake in the Hills will do the necessary homework once officials have a
legal obligation to do so.

"We have no desire to attract these facilities," Olson said. "We would
just want to make sure our regulations are in place."

Officials in Huntley already have been approached about an interested
marijuana cultivator from Batavia, but like their neighbors, they are
uncertain whether they would want to attract medical marijuana businesses.

In McHenry, city staffers have decided they would wait to be
approached by a person wanting to produce medical marijuana before
starting zoning regulation changes.

"We don't have any plans to address it at this time, in terms of
zoning or otherwise," McHenry City Administrator Derik Morefield said.
"It's not even on the radar."

Medical marijuana in the United States:

* California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in
1996.

* Since then, 18 other states and the District of Columbia have
legalized medical marijuana. Those states are Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Source: The National Conference of State Legislatures
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