To the Editor: My son, Ethan, has autism. I am learning more on this parenting journey than I ever expected to learn. Honestly, I really don't want to learn about the side effects of Risperdal or Zyprexa. I don't want to have a reason to know them. I don't want others to treat my sweet boy with any less dignity than he deserves. The grip of autism is not selective. This child is only trying to make sense of his world and his emotional kaleidoscope. I want him to be able to cross the train tracks without being gripped by fear and to enjoy the Christmas lights with the rest of us. I want him to know that he is a treasure, every single day. [continues 289 words]
I'm writing about the thoughtful column by Georgette Braun, "Belvidere woman seeks guidance from educators, " Oct. 11. It seems to me that all Illinois adults should have the freedom of choice to use cannabis a=C2=80" not just those who need it to treat disease. Cannabis not only relieves pain and suffering, but it also prevents many diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's. Cannabis is one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory substances on the planet, and chronic inflammation is the root cause of most diseases of the human body. I strongly urge the readers to read: a=C2=80=C2=9CThe Pot Book: A Complet e Guide to Cannabis: Its role in Medicine, Politics, Science and Culture." It is edited by Julie Holland, M.D. Kirk Muse, Mesa, Arizona [end]
Small Percentage of Patients May Be at Risk, Experts Say Depressed, withdrawn and coping with a death in the family, Joseph thought getting high would help him feel better. Instead, he said, his marijuana smoking grew into a daily habit that made him paranoid and constantly question how others saw him. He went days without going home, showering or eating much besides potato chips. "I always thought (marijuana) would bring down my anxiety, but it just made it that much worse," the Rockford-area man said. [continues 1251 words]
I'd like to respond to Ms. Fay's letter warning Illinois residents about medical cannabis becoming available in Illinois. It is unfortunate that Calvina Fay chose to fear-monger about medical cannabis ["Medical marijuana causes host of problems," Counterpoint, Tuesday] when surely she is aware of the prescription pain pills that are leading to an epidemic of opioid addiction and fatalities. Cannabis has neither the same addictive properties as those opioids nor the potential for an overdose fatality and by any objective account is much safer than many prescription pills. [continues 203 words]
As medical marijuana becomes a reality in Illinois, residents should brace themselves to the problems seen in other states. Already, as reported last month, the marijuana industry is ignoring bans on advertising and launching a million-dollar marketing campaign to boost sales. Advertising highly potent edible products, such as cookies and candy, that are appealing to youth sends the wrong message and leads young people to believe marijuana is harmless. The medical marijuana cottage industry lacks consumer safety protocols and has led to an increase in marijuana-related emergency room visits in other states. [continues 225 words]
The political dysfunction in Springfield that has made it impossible to do something as basic as pass a state budget threatens to eviscerate an important pilot program for medical marijuana-even as potential patients continue to get in line. But this is one logjam that could be broken quickly, and it should be. Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration and the Legislature have shown a good-faith willingness to actually talk to each other about this one - - rare itself these days. For the sake of severely ill people suffering from chronic pain, we urge the governor and Legislature to keep on talking and reach a deal. They might even learn a thing or two about how to bridge the chasm, by giving and getting, on other more difficult issues. [continues 302 words]
Advocates, With Cash in Hand, Await the Backing of at Least One Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton says she has never smoked pot, not even as a bell-bottom-wearing undergraduate in the 1960s. Her husband's administration went nuclear in the war on drugs. During her 2008 campaign, she publicly opposed marijuana legalization. But it's now seven years later, and the marijuana industry is a $2.7 billion business - the fastest-growing in the United States - and one that operates without any legal sanctions in four states, is decriminalized in16 others and is permitted for medical use in a few more. [continues 2013 words]
Veteran Actor in His Element for Thriller 'Sicario' TORONTO (AP) - No other actor has covered all angles of the war on drugs - its tragedies, its violence, its farces - more than Benicio Del Toro. It's a story that has followed the Puerto Ricoborn actor from the start: One of his first credits was the 1990 NBC miniseries "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story." He's played a recovering drug addict ("21 Grams") and one not so recovering at all ("Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"). He starred as Pablo Escobar in last year's "Escobar: Paradise Lost." And the critical pinnacle of his career came in his Oscar-winning performance as an honest Mexico police officer in Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic." [continues 581 words]
I'm an Illinois nurse suffering from chronic pain, recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. As a clinician and now patient, I'm urging Gov. Bruce Rauner to advance the medical cannabis program so patients have access to a natural and effective medicine that has been living in the shadows of less effective, highly addictive and sometimes deadly prescription drugs for far too long. I am a breast cancer survivor. One of the side effects of the medication I was taking was joint pain. It affected my daily life and my ability to work. I couldn't sleep and was constantly nauseous because the discomfort was so extreme. For me, cannabis was not a first line of defense. I was forced to illegally treat myself with cannabis out of pure desperation when all other treatments failed - and it worked. In fact, it was the only remedy that helped me resume my daily activities and has given me hope for returning to a normal life. [continues 109 words]
Hank Kovach's experience mirrors the recent success stories of other children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Wracked by frequent, daily seizures that delayed his brain development, the 7-year-old Chicago boy was unable to speak, learn much or even sleep without waking up in tears after an hour or two. Conventional drugs didn't help much. But after he began using a marijuana extract last year, his parents said, they were astounded when Hank went six months without a seizure. He began uttering sounds, learning numbers and colors, and, for the first time, sleeping through the night. [continues 817 words]
Governor Rewrites Measure, Which Now Returns to Lawmakers SPRINGFIELD - Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday used his veto powers to rewrite a bill aimed at decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying the measure that lawmakers sent him would let people carry too much pot and sets fines too low. Rauner said while he supports the "fundamental purposes" of keeping people out of jail and cutting court costs, such a significant change in drug laws "must be made carefully and incrementally." Sponsors of the bill pushed back, saying the changes are "low-hanging fruit" when it comes to reforming the criminal justice system and contending the governor is working against his own goal of reducing the number of prison inmates. [continues 778 words]
A Drug Kingpin's Escape Builds to an Epic Showdown Talk about timing. Don Winslow's new novel, The Cartel, which fictionally chronicles the past decade of Mexico's brutal drug-lord wars, echoes the stunning, headline grabbing jail break from a maximum-security prison by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the legendary billionaire drug kingpin. Want to know why El Chapo probably won't be captured anytime soon? Never mind the evening news: Truth is in fiction. Read this disturbing and, yes, addictive epic tale instead. Within the first 70 of its 600-plus vivid pages, Adan Barrera, the fascinating, suave, drug-cartel patron - loosely based on El Chapo - escapes from his country's most secure prison to rebuild his Sinaloan drug-trafficking empire. [continues 471 words]
While the Chicago Sun-Times' Editorial Board begins commendably enough Thursday by asking Gov. Bruce Rauner to sign the extension for the medical cannabis pilot program, it then asks people who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder to wait an indefinite period of time for relief from addiction and overdosing on opioid pain killers, which are the staples of most regimens of current treatments for PTSD. While the Editorial Board gave some credence to the realities of PTSD, it is not possible to say PTSD exists and then ask people to wait for non-opioid relief for it unless there's doubt that PTSD is a real condition. [continues 175 words]
With every day that passes, it becomes more important that Gov. Bruce Rauner sign a bill resetting the start date of Illinois' medical marijuana pilot program. At the same time, if only to protect popular support for the pilot program, the governor has good reason to veto, for now, a companion bill that would add to the list of conditions for which medical pot can be subscribed. The pilot program was expected to run for about four years, enough time to evaluate whether it helps people who are ill without creating unexpected problems. But due to a number of delays, the program has yet to start, and it is scheduled to end Jan. 1, 2018. The bill on Rauner's desk would reset the start date, allowing the pilot program to get its full run. [continues 316 words]
A state lawmaker opposed to legalizing marijuana vowed to fight pro-pot ballot initiatives expected to be filed today, saying she'll join others taking on state Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, who backs legalizing pot and already has an advance copy of one of the questions. "We all see what opioids do. I don't think we should be adding fuel to the already raging drug issues in Massachusetts," said state Rep. Colleen M. Garry (D-Dracut), who joins high-profile pols such as Gov. Charlie Baker, House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Hub Mayor Martin J. Walsh in opposing marijuana legalization. [continues 278 words]
If you want a bottle of booze in downstate Albion, you have to drive out of town. But the Edwards County town of less than 2,000 residents is the site of a huge medical marijuana farm. The seemingly contradictory situation has led some in town to declare Albion "high and dry." And a local shop has sold dozens of T- shirts with the pithy phrase. "The high is we're growing marijuana here in Albion," Ald. Arrol Stewart said with a laugh. "The dry is two of the convenience stores have applied for a package liquor license, and they were turned down. The city council voted against it." [continues 352 words]
With one major exception, everything Peter Bensinger said about kids being killed on our streets because of "El Chapo" Guzman is right. (Reader Feedback, July 16.) He omitted that El Chapo is our own creation, thanks to our laws that assure that the drug cartels flourish. De-criminalizing drugs for proven addicts under a government-controlled program would end drugrelated street violence overnight by ending its enormous profits. Society would save billions now spent annually on interdiction, the courts, incarceration and even emergency room costs for shot-up drug peddlers vying for turf. [continues 105 words]
On Tuesday, a Sun-Times editorial, "If caught, El Chapo should be tried in the US," brought home the deadly impact in Chicago of Chapo Guzman's trafficking in drugs. The editorial appropriately cited the death of 7-year-old Amari Brown earlier this month to make this very point. Guzman is the worst of the worst in spreading addiction and death. His crimes are so widespread that he has been indicted in seven different U.S. jurisdictions-from Chicago, which has been the hub of his activity, to Miami, New York City, Texas and Southern California. The indictments include murder, assault and kidnapping, in addition to illegal drug trafficking. [continues 54 words]
Look no farther than the shooting death of 7- year-old Amari Brown to understand how the prison escape Saturday night of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is bad news for Chicago. Amari was gunned down accidentally on July 4 in a gang dispute, it is believed, fueled by illegal drugs. Where did those drugs come from? Guzman's Sinaloa cartel is the major source of the drugs that come to Chicago. The cartel also uses Chicago as a distribution center for sales elsewhere in the country. Back in 2009, then- U. S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said Sinaloa brought nearly $ 6 billion worth of illegal drugs narcotics mostly to the Chicago area from 1990 to 2008. In 2010, the Justice Department said the Chicago area was the top U. S. destination for heroin and No. 2 for cocaine and marijuana. [continues 484 words]
Heroin, once the forbidden fruit of even the most hardcore drug users, is now a problem for even Smalltown, USA. Experts believe the meteoric rise of addictive drugs such as Oxycontin and Vicodin has contributed greatly to the increase. As tighter controls were put on those drugs, heroin became a cheaper and easier option and offers a similar euphoric high. By 2011, 4.2 million Americans age 12 and older - yes, age 12 - admitted trying the highly addictive drug at least once. A large percentage acknowledge they are addicted. [continues 422 words]
I'm writing about: "Debate swirls around weather to decriminalize marijuana in Illinois" (6-27-15). While decriminalization is far superior to our current policies of marijuana criminalization, the answer to our crime problems caused by marijuana criminalization is full legalization. Decriminalization of use is what we had with alcohol during Alcohol Prohibition (producers and suppliers were punished but not consumers). The only answer is full legalization. Only fully legal products can be regulated by any government agency. Only fully legal products can be controlled by any government agency. And only fully legal products can be taxed by any government agency. Decriminalization leaves the control and distribution of marijuana in the hands of criminal gangs. We need full legalization of marijuana like alcohol and tobacco. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
If Mike Bonds had avoided misdemeanor convictions for possession of small amounts of marijuana more than 15 years ago, he believes he might have been able to enlist in the U.S. Navy. The trajectory of his life - which includes a 2000 felony conviction in Piatt County for marijuana possession - might have been altered, said Bonds, who now operates a gutter installation business. That's why Bonds, 36, who lives in rural Mansfield, about 65 miles northeast of Springfield, supports a bill on Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk that would decriminalize possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis. [continues 2397 words]
To the Editor: I am writing on behalf of the epilepsy community in response to the editorial "Medical marijuana program slow to unfold." The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Chicago was heavily involved in passing a recent amendment to the Illinois Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, adding epilepsy as a debilitating condition, and it is committed to the success of this program, ensuring it is safe and accessible for all patients. There are 3 million Americans living with epilepsy, and more than 130,000 in the Chicago area. Epilepsy is a neurological condition that produces reoccurring seizures, and, in the case of about one-third of those people with epilepsy, their seizures are uncontrolled by conventional treatments. Many individuals, including children with epilepsy, have experienced remarkable results using a form of medicinal cannabis called cannabidiol. Despite the fact that the program was launched Aug. 1, 2013, no one has received treatment. [continues 118 words]
'Testilying' A Threat to Justice System, State's Attorney Says Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez announced perjury charges Monday against four veteran police officers - three of them narcotics cops from Chicago - for allegedly lying under oath at a routine drug hearing last year. Such conduct, Alvarez said, is a threat to a justice system that depends on truthful testimony. "We expect it from our witnesses, and we demand it from our police officers," she said in a statement. The officers are accused of a practice that some defense attorneys consider so widespread in Cook County that they have a word for it - "testilying," a reference to perjury by police, particularly in drug cases. [continues 670 words]
State's Path Similar to Others That OK'd Recreational Use Recent victories at the state Capitol are giving marijuana advocates hope that their ultimate goal - to legalize pot in Illinois - may be closer to reality. With a medical pot program underway and lawmakers voting last month to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of the drug, Illinois is following a path that three other states have taken toward legalization. Alaska, Colorado and Oregon rolled out medical marijuana and loosened pot penalties before approving the drug for recreational use [continues 773 words]
Clergy Sees Laws As Harsh, Involving Race, Fair Housing The marijuana decriminalization bill that could soon go to Gov. Bruce Rauner's desk has an array of supporters, including civil libertarians, prosecutors and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Its supporters also include clergy. Protestant pastors and Jewish rabbis are lobbying lawmakers in Illinois and in states across the Northeast as part of a push toward legalization, which they see as a moral cause encompassing issues such as race, fair housing and employment. [continues 751 words]
Bill That Would Decriminalize Small Amounts of Marijuana Is Through the Illinois House and Senate; Decision Now Up to Gov. Rauner Police won't be able to arrest Illinoisans for having small amounts of marijuana if a bill passed by lawmakers gets Gov. Bruce Rauner's signature. On Thursday, the Illinois Senate joined the House in passing a bill that makes possession of 15 grams or less of marijuana a noncriminal offense. Instead, police would issue a ticket and a fine of no more than $125. [continues 663 words]
Maybe we're at long last starting to win the war, but not in the way we had planned. It was always crazy that you could buy a gallon of vodka at any grocery store, while a joint would land you in a jail. But "crazy" is one of the more apt adjectives describing America's- War on Drugs, a multi-decade, multibillion-dollar effort that in the end . . . assuming this is, please God, the beginning of the end . . . produced what? Plentiful, ever cheaper street narcotics and a prison system jammed with drug offenders. [continues 350 words]
A state- appointed advisory panel suggested Monday that migraines, irritable bowel syndrome and posttraumatic stress disorder should be added to conditions that may be treated by medical marijuana in Illinois. But diabetes and anxiety did not receive the backing of the Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, which met in the Thompson Center. The panel heard from advocates and detractors before board members voted on whether to endorse the use of marijuana to treat each medical condition. A majority vote was needed to garner a recommendation. The state will take the recommendations into consideration before final rejection or approval. [continues 202 words]
In Cook County, it's possible for someone to sit in jail for a couple of weeks on a drug charge even if they had no drugs. That's not good, obviously, and cries out for reform. In every other county in Illinois, police do a field test when they stop someone suspected of possessing illegal drugs. If the substance in question doesn't test positive for an illegal drug, the person who has been stopped is free to go. But in Cook County police departments, including Chicago, a suspect sometimes must wait in jail-if he can't make bail-until the suspected cocaine or heroin is analyzed at a state crime lab and, only then, a probable cause hearing can be held. [continues 312 words]
While this proposed policy would save taxpayers over $ 58 million over three years, it may not reduce time waiting in jail. The Illinois Consortium on Drug Policy at Roosevelt University supports the intent of House Bill 356 because it is vitally important to reduce the number of days that individuals wait for a preliminary hearing. Awaiting results from the Illinois State Police Crime lab creates long delays for defendants and causes overcrowding in Cook County Jail. But academic literature raises concerns regarding police conducting field testing for suspect narcotics. [continues 343 words]
State Advisory Panel Recommends That Drug Be Available for 11 New Conditions An Illinois panel Monday recommended allowing medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, anorexia and migraine headaches, but rejected its use for anxiety and diabetes. The Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board supported the drug's availability for 11 new medical conditions in all, including chronic post-surgical pain, osteoarthritis and irritable bowel syndrome. The recommendations, if approved by the Illinois Department of Public Health, would significantly increase the list of conditions for which medical pot can be accessed. As it stands, about three dozen disorders and diseases, including AIDS, cancer and lupus, can be eligible for medical marijuana - though a series of delays have so far rendered medicinal pot unavailable in the marketplace. [continues 740 words]
The Cook County state's attorney is assuming legislative authority in her prosecutorial discretion. There is no dispute in her utilizing that discretion, but it is the responsibility of the legislature to make laws and the courts to enforce those laws. She may seek revision of the marijuana laws but not unilaterally decide which laws she will enforce. Narcotic offenders are not genetically disposed to the use of narcotics and will usually start with marijuana or pills and progress to total addiction using other more lethal narcotics. - - John Culloton, Chicago [end]
Narcotics Offenders in Treatment Programs Funded by Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act Could Double to 12,000 a Year Under State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's Policy to Reduce Pot Prosecutions Shoplifting and other petty crime associated with narcotics abuse could decrease because of Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's new policy to stop prosecuting minor drug cases, according to her office and the head of a large drug treatment referral agency. Under the policy announced last week, Alvarez's office will no longer prosecute most misdemeanor marijuana cases and will send nonviolent offenders charged with low-level felony heroin, marijuana and cocaine possession to drug treatment instead of jail. [continues 348 words]
This is in response to "Low-level pot offenders in Rock River Valley offered treatment instead of jail," printed in the Journal-Standard. I think that it is noble that pot consumers not be sent to jail for using a natural herb that has never killed anybody. But why treatment? Like millions of others, I am addicted to coffee that contains caffeine. Do I need or want treatment for my coffee addiction? No. How would coffee consumers feel if their nanny-state government criminalized coffee? Probably the same way marijuana consumers feel today. Kirk Muse, former Freeport resident [end]
FREEPORT - While the Cook County state's attorney announced Monday that her office won't prosecute most misdemeanor marijuana cases, there's no such policy shift on the horizon for local prosecutors. State's attorneys in Winnebago, Boone and Stephenson counties said they will continue to offer programs already in place for low-level pot offenders. Anita Alvarez said in Chicago that she also will steer many facing felony drug charges into treatment rather than locking them up. The policy shift will save the county, that includes Chicago, the money it costs to keep offenders in jail, she said. Those facing low-level drug charges will be routed to treatment programs almost immediately after they are arrested, she said. And she added that by reducing the number of days people spend in jail, those arrested may be able to keep their jobs and homes that they could otherwise lose if they're locked up. [continues 445 words]
Would Al Capone have loved drug prohibition? This man thinks so James Gierach sounded almost giddy when I telephoned him Monday to get his reaction to Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez's announcement that she would no longer prosecute misdemeanor marijuana cases and would refer non-violent felony drug offenders for treatment. "It's wonderful," Gierach said. "It's progress. It's almost like the sun is shining. It's not yet. But maybe we're moving out of the Dark Ages toward enlightenment. It's something to be happy about." [continues 1170 words]
Claiming that marijuana has a "lethal legacy," as Debbie Leiniger did in her March 7 "My View" opinion is not only specious and spurious, it is akin to declaring that the Earth is flat. Despite all evidence to the contrary. History shows that people have always used intoxicants. In every age, in every part of the world, people have pursued intoxication with plants, alcohol and other euphoric substances. In fact, this behavior has so much force and persistence that it functions much like our drives for food, sleep and sex. [continues 335 words]
Cannabis, or marijuana, prohibitionists use historically discredited lies, half-truths and propaganda like "Marijuana a lethal legacy for future generations" in order to perpetuate the nasty business of caging humans for using what God indicates He created and says is good on literally the very first page of the Bible. Nearly everything Debbie Leininger claims is false, but insinuating cannabis causes cancer is grave. In over 5,000 years of documented use, there is not one single dead body to show cannabis has ever caused cancer, while cigarettes kill over 1,000 Americans daily. A sane or moral argument to cage responsible adults who use cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colorado [end]
I am writing about Debbie Leininger's not-so-thoughtful "My View" piece: "Marijuana a lethal legacy for future generations." Leininger did not mention why she wants to keep marijuana completely unregulated, untaxed and controlled and distributed only by criminal gangs. Obviously Leininger has never read Clint Werner's outstanding book: "Marijuana Gateway to Health: How Cannabis Protects Us From Cancer and Alzheimer's Disease." If she had, she would learn that not only does cannabis not cause cancer, it prevents it. [continues 70 words]
Delays, Legal Challenges Send Patients to Streets A year and a half after Illinois lawmakers voted to legalize medical marijuana, Marla Levi is still waiting. Levi has multiple sclerosis, uses a wheelchair and said she ingests marijuana to help her manage the symptoms. If she wants to continue, she'll have to get it on the street because medical marijuana in Illinois isn't expected to be available for several more months. A series of snafus has delayed the rollout of the program. Now lawsuits challenging the licensing process are further complicating efforts, and a judge has granted a court order delaying the issuance of one cultivation license until the mess can be straightened out. [continues 874 words]
Expert Rips Rahm's Positive Spin on Impact of Pot- Law Enforcement on Blacks, Hispanics The Emanuel administration has touted as a sign of "progress" statistics showing that the percentage of arrests to tickets in marijuana cases was about the same for blacks, Hispanics and whites in 2014. But a deeper dive into the numbers tells a more complex story, one that's raising a question among some critics of how much progress is actually being made. When you look at the raw numbers, blacks were busted 16 times more than whites for small amounts of pot in 2014- including tickets and arrests. And for every white Chicagoan busted for marijuana, four Hispanics were busted, according to police statistics. Those stats come despite the fact that white Chicagoans outnumber both black and Hispanic Chicagoans by a ratio of approximately 3- to- 2. [continues 581 words]
Two marijuana bills are now being considered in the Illinois State Senate and Illinois House. The Cannabis Penalties Bill, HB 218, introduced by Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, and co-sponsored by Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana/Champaign, and Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, would replace criminal penalties with a $100 fine. The bill would eliminate the possibility of arrest and jail time with offenders caught possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana. Offenders would be issued a $100 "=C2=80=C2=9CUniform Cannabis= [continues 346 words]
I am writing about the not-so-thoughtful Feb. 8 letter from Robert F. Becker: "Marijuana is not the answer to our problems." Marijuana is certainly the answer for my chronic pain, which is caused by my spinal stenosis and spinal scoliosis. Two of the medications prescribed by my doctor, Meloxicam and Linsospril, and used as prescribed almost killed me by destroying my kidneys. My bloodwork number, which is supposed to be greater than 61, was down to 17. If that number had gotten down to 15, I probably would have died from kidney failure. All medications have side effects. Marijuana is not really a drug but rather a plant and natural herb - a natural herb that has never killed anyone in the 6,000-year history of its use. Kirk Muse, former Freeport resident [end]
It's OK for Illinois Physicians to Get into the Medical Marijuana Business- As Long As They Don't Recommend It to Patients At least three Illinois doctors are getting into the legal medical marijuana business, according to a review of records of the companies recently approved to grow and sell marijuana. The rules say that's OK as long as they don't recommend marijuana to their patients. But physicians' involvement in the medical marijuana industry raises questions about the potential for conflicts of interest. [continues 599 words]
The conflict between the states and the federal government when it comes to legalized medical marijuana may play out in an Illinois court. What is believed to be the first lawsuit regarding medical marijuana licenses in Illinois was filed Friday in downstate Coles County by a business that lost out in its bid to get a license to grow medical marijuana. The business, Shiloh Agronomics LLC contends that the company it lost out to, Shelby County Community Services Inc., was improperly given the license because it is a nonprofit organization that receives tax benefits from the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency. [continues 318 words]
Seventy some years ago in my youth, I learned drugs and alcohol would mess up people mentally, they could harm themselves and others. A high school mate researched the dangers of marijuana and warned us to avoid it and other narcotics. As a young adult, I experienced and saw tragic life-altering effects of addictive drugs, alcohol and games learned to shun them and live a happy life. So, I am aghast at the headline "Pot production raises hopes," and the euphoria over resurrection of Mill Race tax profiteering. I seriously question anyone pushing marijuana as a life-saving medical substance when it cures nothing. Whom besides tax addicts and users insist it is medicine? [continues 202 words]
The prospect of medical marijuana for sale in your Illinois neighborhood may seem unreal. But for a truly mind-blowing experience, even without trying the wares, consider a glimpse at the next step on the legalization continuum: its sale for recreational use. The recreational use of pot became legal in Colorado in 2014. Which means that a ski vacation there now offers an additional kind of adventure. On our recent ski trip to Telluride with friends, my adult daughter proposed that we take a look. Not necessarily a taste; her drug of choice is a gin martini. But why waste an opportunity, she asked, to see a legal marijuana store? [continues 853 words]
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. [continues 195 words]
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. [continues 396 words]
Illinois
