Lake County Crime Stoppers, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Mundelein Police Department, Lake County Regional Office of Education and the Lake County State's Attorney's Office announced that the crime and drug prevention rulers for Lake County's public middle-school and high-school students have been delivered. "This project was funded in part by Lake County Crime Stoppers as well as from drug asset forfeiture accounts. The monies seized from drug dealers is helping to educate our youth on the dangers of drugs. It is a wonderful thing when you can reach over 70,000 children on their dime," said State's Attorney Michael Nerheim. [continues 370 words]
Strip Club Owner's Proposed Dispensary a Hot Topic Chicago's medical marijuana cultivation centers and dispensaries would be required to hire around-the-clock security guards and load and unload pot out of public view, under a preemptive crackdown proposed at Wednesday's City Council meeting. Even before the growing and selling is up and running, Finance Committee Chairman Edward Burke ( 14th) and Zoning Committee Chairman Danny Solis ( 25th) want safeguards in place to protect the public. "We want to make absolutely sure these products are properly protected and that these cannabis-infused products are not out in public view," Burke was quoted as saying in a press release. [continues 277 words]
Horse racing, tobacco, liquor, gambling, slot machines, beer, the lottery - these used to be called vices. Now all are streams of revenue into which Illinois governments have stuck their fingers. Legally. So the city of Chicago should grab hold of marijuana with both hands and not let go. Now. There are so many directions and opportunities, it's dizzying. For the first time in his tenure, in my opinion, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has uttered something comprehensible and of imagination; so, yes, he should proceed toward legalization. Chicago cannot live indefinitely with problems like a shrinking home-sales market, a crumbling infrastructure and an outdated, inefficient transportation network. But a bold idea done right and done quickly - to get an edge over what's sure to be an avalanche of cities and locales doing the same thing - might help save the city. - - David Atella, Hinsdale [end]
Critics Say It's Part of Future Push for Stricter Gun Law Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday started to sell his idea of loosening Illinois drug laws for possession of illegal substances like marijuana, heroin and cocaine, but some of those he has to convince said they're skeptical because he'll want tougher gun laws in return. The reception to Emanuel's plan to decriminalize marijuana statewide and reduce minor drug possession to a misdemeanor illustrated the difficult slog the mayor faces as he tries to secure a signature victory on violent crime, an issue that's been at the forefront of his tenure. [continues 1603 words]
1 in 5 Applications for Grow Houses, Retail Centers to Get Approval Illinois received 369 applications for medical marijuana business licenses, which means about 1 in 5 applications will win approval to open grow houses and retail centers in the state. The state received 211 applications for dispensaries - retail shops for medical marijuana - and 158 applications for grow centers. Illinois will allow 60 dispensaries statewide and 21 grow centers. Bob Morgan, statewide project coordinator for the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, said the number of applications, which were due Monday, was higher than anticipated. [continues 319 words]
Does anybody really believe in this day and age that somebody deserves jail or prison time for getting caught with, say, a small amount of pot? Arresting and prosecuting low-level drug offenders is a waste of time. So say cops and assistant state's attorneys, who should know. On Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel rightly joined a growing call to decriminalize marijuana statewide and reduce penalties for small amounts of other controlled substances. As the mayor said in a press release, "It is time to put our sentencing policies in line with our values [and] reduce penalties for nonviolent, low-level drug offenses so we don't put people in prison who need drug treatment." [continues 628 words]
One week after Bruce Rauner said he wouldn't have signed a bill supporting medical marijuana in Illinois, the Republican gubernatorial candidate on Tuesday said he was "open to the discussion" of decriminalizing small amounts of the substance statewide. When asked about Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana and reducing to a misdemeanor the penalty for possession of one gram or less of any controlled substance, Rauner said: "I think we can and should talk about ways we can creatively deal with nonviolent offenders. We should have that discussion . . . We have a massive failure by Pat Quinn to deal with violent criminals." [continues 237 words]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked state lawmakers Tuesday to soften Illinois' war on drugs, but the political response was lukewarm. Emanuel wants the General Assembly to go beyond what he did in Chicago by decriminalizing possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana and reducing from a felony to a misdemeanor the penalty for possession 1 gram or less of any controlled substance. "Thirteen other states already have laws on the books similar to what I'm proposing, and there is no higher rate of drug [use] in these states as a result," Emanuel said. [continues 266 words]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday ridiculed Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis for suggesting that marijuana be legalized and taxed because it's a "great revenue source." "I do not think you should balance the budget by promoting recreational smoking of pot," the mayor said. "I've balanced the budget three years in a row by holding the line on property, sales and gas taxes. Every year, we've put money back in the rainy day fund. We also banned flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes within 500 feet of a school, so we have fewer kids smoking cigarettes. . . . I don't think the way to balance the budget is to promote smoking of marijuana." [continues 321 words]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. Looking at this event in perspective, it is clear that a licensing money grab and a shameless plea for voter kowtowing is the order of the day for the Emanuel mayoral campaign. This move reeks of the worst kind of politicking and caters to all those who are gullible to the seemingly free ride that is obviously absent. Mike Koskiewicz, Portage Park [end]
Officials Say Relaxing Penalties Wrong Signal, Wouldn't Help Addicts Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposal to change the terms of the drug war by lessening the penalties for low-level possession is getting blowback from the suburbs, with some prosecutors and police chiefs saying it sends an unhelpful message at a time when heroin overdoses are claiming hundreds of lives. Emanuel said this week that he wants the state legislature to change the possession of 1 gram or less of any controlled substance to a misdemeanor from a Class 4 felony, which can bring prison time and lessen the chances of future employment. [continues 1034 words]
Marijuana legislations in the United States Over the past couple of years, 22 states have either legalized or decriminalized the use of marijuana. Alaska, California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon have all legalized marijuana for medical use and decriminalized the possession of specific amounts of marijuana. Other states have also decriminalized the possession of specific amounts, including Mississippi, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin. Recently, Washington and Colorado took the next step and legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. Unfortunately, the possession of a small quantity of marijuana will result in jail time or fines anywhere else in the U.S. Even with the new policy, the overall drug law has stayed the same. However, no state has taken action to decriminalize or legalize drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs. First, prohibiting a drug does not eliminate the drug market. All prohibition does is raise costs and consumer prices. To protect and continue production of the product, those who are marketing it turn to guns and violence instead of being able to resolve disputes with courts, lawyers or arbitration. [continues 269 words]
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]
I read with interest the article "Medical marijuana may cost patients top dollar" by Robert McCoppin because I am part of a group seeking licenses to operate cultivation and dispensary facilities in Illinois. While there is much speculation as to the size of the market, patient access and pricing, one fact stands out: the most widely used plant-based medicine up until 1937 will once again be available to people who need it in Illinois. Propaganda in the past 80 years has put cannabis in the same light as cocaine and heroin while hiding its medicinal benefits. [continues 60 words]
Decatur's finest get their man Dennis Kendall didn't finish high school, but at 32, he was a homeowner in Decatur before his world came crashing down. He began roofing at the age of 13, his family says, and was once employed by the same company for nine years. He didn't have a driver's license owing to a driving under the influence conviction. If he couldn't catch a ride to work, he'd call a cab. "He was early, if anything," recalls his employer, John Muehlebach, owner of Muehlebach Roofing. "He's the type of employee you don't come across very often in my industry." [continues 1036 words]
Jim Champion was the first person to submit an application to legally use medical marijuana in Illinois. Champion led the pack of more than 2,000 seriously ill Illinoisans who have sent in applications seeking to use medical pot, according to state officials on Friday. Officials started accepting the paperwork Tuesday, beginning with letters A through L. Champion, an Army veteran who has multiple sclerosis, smokes two marijuana cigarettes a day to help with painful spasms. Since he started using marijuana, he's down from using 59 pills, including powerful narcotic pain relievers, to just six to help manage his condition. [continues 258 words]
Experts Predict Illinois Prices Could Be Among Most Expensive in U.S., Thanks to Restrictive Rules When Jim Champion goes to a medical marijuana dispensary in Illinois for the first time, his wife, Sandy, plans to take a picture to mark the victory, after years of fighting for an alternative treatment for his multiple sclerosis. "It'll be like going to the candy store for his birthday," she said. Champion, a military veteran from Somonauk in north-central Illinois who said he already takes marijuana to ease his symptoms, probably should plan on bringing plenty of cash. [continues 1055 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]
Hundreds of police officers in nearly 30 Kane County law enforcement agencies by early September will begin carrying a drug that can reverse heroin overdoses, causing county officials to begin finding ways to pay for the drug over the long term. Representatives from area police departments received training through the county at the end of July. Officers who completed the training have been educating their peers the past few weeks in preparation for actually carrying the drug this fall. Each officer trained in administering the drug, known commercially as Narcan, will carry two doses in the form of a nasal spray. The drug acts by blocking receptors in the brain that opiates, such as heroin, Codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin, attach to. Narcan has no ability to reverse overdoses of non-opiates, such as cocaine. [continues 210 words]
Inside Illinois
