Number Below Initial Estimates; Backlog Exists for Businesses' Out-Of-State Checks

The number of approved medical marijuana patients in Illinois has reached about 1,000, officials announced this week.

While the number remains far below initial projections, it's a noticeable increase from 650 one month ago.

"Some people may be waiting until the product is actually available," Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said.

That earlier number was "terrifying" for medical marijuana business owners, said Mark Passerini, president of the Illinois Cannabis Industry Association, who had said it's not a sustainable business unless more patients sign up.

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Rauner Awarding Farming, Selling Licenses That Quinn Didn't Issue

The marijuana seeds can soon be planted.

In a move that surprised advocates of the medical marijuana program, Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration on Monday announced it would issue most of the coveted licenses to grow and sell the medical product.

The move came amid fears Rauner would take months to determine who should be awarded the new state licenses.

Patients and medical marijuana advocates lauded the governor for taking swift action on the licenses, allowing the medical marijuana program to gain momentum.

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Maybe drug cartels wouldn't terrorize Mexico and Central America - our gift to our southern neighbors.

Maybe drunks wouldn't kill so many on our highways, or our health care system wouldn't be so overwhelmed and costly. Maybe not so many families would fall apart and our cities wouldn't be bloodstained by gang wars - or so many adolescent lives wasted before they could even get started.

Time to face it: We've become a nation of addicts. So many addictions it's hard to list them all. Alcohol. Tobacco, nicotine and vaping on electronic cigarettes. Sugar, fat, junk food. Sex and pornography, the addictions of the mind, body and soul.

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At the groundbreaking for a charter school in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, Gov. Bruce Rauner slammed his predecessor, saying Pat Quinn has left him plenty of work to do.

Asked about how he plans to deal with Illinois' new medical marijuana law, he described it as a "mess" that Quinn had created and "then ran away from."

After weeks of anticipation- and in a move that appeared to leave many of his staff surprised and embarrassed - Quinn left office without issuing any licenses to grow or sell medical marijuana in Illinois.

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Although the state's medical marijuana program remains in limbo, with patients and entrepreneurs waiting for the state to get it rolling, it's not coming cheap.

So far, the startup cost has been more than $1.8 million, most of it for computer software, records show.

The Illinois Department of Public Health, using money from the dedicated Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Fund, has shelled out nearly $1.5 million to Iron Data Solutions Inc. for the software used to house the registry of patients and caregivers allowed to purchase medical marijuana, according to records from the Illinois Comptroller's office.

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When someone wants treatment to end a heroin addiction, insurance shouldn't hold him back.

That's the perspective of addiction treatment professionals who say the biggest issue they face with insurance companies is disagreements over whether a patient meets the medical criteria for a certain type of care.

Instead of starting all drug rehab patients in residential treatment at the highest level of care or in occasional outpatient visits at the lowest, treatment providers say the approach should be somewhere in the middle.

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What a shame that it's not looking good for medical marijuana in Illinois.

Illinois became the 20th state to allow medical marijuana under a pilot program approved Aug. 1, 2013. Yet, the process dragged on, and former Gov. Pat Quinn left office without finalizing it. Now our current governor has said, "I'm concerned about the process," so the waiting game continues.

Here's why I think the situation is where it is: too many people in Illinois are letting their past ideas about marijuana cloud the issue.

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Costs Adding Up for Medical Pot Entrepreneurs

In the world of medical marijuana entrepreneurs in Illinois, there's plenty of green behind the grass. Hundreds of would-be medical marijuana growers and sellers have put millions of dollars on the line hoping for coveted state permits that were supposed to be issued by former Gov. Pat Quinn by the end of last year.

To snag those valuable permits, the entrepreneurs hired consultants, lawyers and lobbyists.

They're already paying rent in some cases, or have money tied up in options to buy property.

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Gov. Pat Quinn created all sorts of mischief in his final days in office, but he got one thing right: He didn't sign off at the last minute on licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana in Illinois.

He left that to his successor, and his successor said Tuesday he's in no rush to act.

There is every reason for Gov. Bruce Rauner to be careful about this.

The public knows almost nothing about the applicants for the coveted licenses to run 21 growing facilities and 60 dispensaries across the state.

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The state's medical marijuana czar is staying put as the new governor issues pink slips to some state employees.

Bob Morgan, a lawyer and the coordinator of the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, is "staying aboard for now," said Gov. Bruce Rauner's spokesman, Lance rover.

The news was welcomed by some worried that Morgan would be immediately fired by the Republican Rauner, as he cleans house. The program has already suffered setbacks and delays because former Gov. Pat Quinn did not issue the business licenses needed to get the program going.

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It's understandable that Gov. Bruce Rauner wants to take his own hard look at Illinois' process for awarding medical marijuana licenses, just so long as it's not a backdoor way to kill the whole program.

Much as we sympathize with the many ill and suffering people eager for legally available medical marijuana, this is a field easily exploited, most notably by organized crime, and taking a little more time to get it right is only responsible.

Rauner says he wants to make sure the state's medical marijuana pilot program- authorized by a law signed on Aug. 1, 2013- has been properly managed. Fair enough. Our concern is that he doesn't just run out the clock on the current pilot program, due to expire in 2017, and let the initiative die. That would be unfair to the legitimate entrepreneurs who have paid some $5 million in fees for a chance to run a medical marijuana cultivation center or dispensary.

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Up in Smoke!

It's a no!

In the wake of Gov. Pat Quinn's exit from office Monday, Sneed has learned he will NOT give a green light to Illinois license applications to cultivate and distribute medical marijuana- and will toss a safety wrench into the marijuana mix.

Sneed has also learned Gov. Quinn, who had been urging caution in the state's medical marijuana process, will sign legislation Monday to further tighten the new medical marijuana laws.

Under the changes Quinn is signing into law, the Department of Agriculture will have the power not only to revoke marijuana growers' licenses, but also to suspend them.

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4 Eligible Schools Taking It Slow on Rule in Effect Jan. 1

Illinois universities can legally grow industrial hemp now, but it may be awhile before seeds are planted.

A new law, effective Jan. 1, allows state institutions that offer four-year agriculture degrees to research hemp with a license from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Two of the four eligible schools have expressed interest - the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State University.

Rob Rhykerd, chairman of the Department of Agriculture at Illinois State, said research at the school would focus on production and increasing fiber content in the plant. After that, it would be up to agricultural industries in Illinois to take the research and pursue hemp production.

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Gov. Pat Quinn would not commit Sunday to awarding licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana in Illinois before he leaves office.

Without explanation, the state blew its self-imposed deadline last week to award those licenses before the end of 2014. On Sunday, Quinn said research is still underway.

"That will continue until the job is done," Quinn said. "It is a complicated law, and we're working on it as best we can."

But in the meantime, patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy are waiting to use medical marijuana for treatment. Entrepreneurs who have invested in the venture are also left in a lurch.

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Families Say It Works for Epileptic Seizures; Doctors Still Skeptical

Chicago (AP) - Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois' medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures.

Gross lives and works in Illinois. His wife, Nicole, moved with their two sons so their 8-year-old could legally swallow a quarter-teaspoon of marijuana oil each day. While the medical evidence is thin, some parents - including the Grosses - say marijuana works for their children and they're willing to experiment.

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CHICAGO (AP) - Randy Gross hopes a new law allowing children into Illinois' medical marijuana program will reunite his family, nearly a year after his wife moved to Colorado so their son could receive a controversial treatment to ease his epileptic seizures.

Gross lives and works in Illinois. His wife, Nicole, moved with their two sons so their 8-year-old could legally swallow a quarter-teaspoon of marijuana oil each day. While the medical evidence is thin, some parents - including the Grosses - say marijuana works for their children and they're willing to experiment.

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While the Illinois Department of Agriculture had planned to select the medical marijuana growing sites by year's end, those plans have changed.

Melaney Arnold, the spokeswoman for the state's medical cannabis pilot program, said this week that the state will not be making selections within the 22 Illinois State Police district locations, and she's not sure when those sites will be chosen.

"There is no indication as to when that may take place," she said.

In District 21, the region that includes Kankakee, Iroquois and Ford counties, there are five applications under review. Four of the applications are within Kankakee County.

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State Allowing Food, Liquid Infusions for Qualifying Children

Children who live in Illinois will be allowed access to medical marijuana in the new year under rules announced by state officials Tuesday.

Those younger than 18 will need permission from a parent or legal guardian, must get the drug through an adult caregiver and will be required to receive approval from their own treating physician and a second doctor. Children may obtain only marijuana-infused products, such as food or liquid drops, and will not be allowed to get raw pot for smoking, under Illinois Department of Public Health rules.

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Mary Baran suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and wants to legally use medical marijuana, but she said her doctor won't recommend her for the program.

She's not alone, according to marijuana advocacy group NORML Illinois.

"We've heard from a lot of patients that they just can't get their doctors to write recommendations," said the group's Executive Director Dan Linn. People who apply to use medical marijuana must have their doctor's approval before the state will grant the user license.

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Next year, unless state legislators change a law linking marijuana and driving, Illinois prosecutors can continue to brand innocent people as criminals and put them in prison with no proof of guilt.

That's not a claim but a sad fact, said one area defense attorney who's finding more around the state rallying to his cause. They're raising their flag now around the case of Scott Shirey, a north suburban Chicago man whose 10-year-old son was killed and twin son badly injured when a pickup truck broadsided his car at an intersection.

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