Medical Marijuana

Unit 5’s six returning school board members took oaths of office and elected board officers Wednesday night.

Heroin addiction and opioid abuse are viewed as an epidemic in Illinois, and across the nation.  

The medical marijuana industry is trying to steer patients and doctors to cannabis instead.

McLean County residents are reacting to a new medical marijuana dispensary opening in northern Normal. The Green Solution opened their doors Friday to allow members of the public to preview the facility.

Steve Sompong of Bloomington has a prescription for cannabis to treat Fibromyalgia. He said he's had to drive to Canton and Peoria to obtain the substance.

"Now I'm three miles away. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened in the state of Illinois," he said. "I mean, help with medical, children [and] everything. Everybody benefits from this that has problems.”

A new medical marijuana dispensary is set to open next month in Normal.

The Green Solution is in the 500 block of West Northtown Road. 

The Normal Town Council will be asked to vote on changing the town's ordinance on cannabis possession to align with a state law passed last month.

Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation last week extending Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program by another two and half years. But the sponsor of the extension in the Illinois House says he had to make some sacrifices along the way.

A Cook County judge has sided with a veteran from Urbana and ordered the state to add Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to the list of conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana.

Judge Neil Cohen ordered the Department of Public Health's director to add PTSD within 30 days. The sternly worded ruling says Director Nirav Shah “engaged in a private investigation, hidden from public view'' that was “constitutionally inappropriate.''

The Illinois medical marijuana industry saw $2.2 million in retail sales during April, the largest one-month figure yet. Program director Joseph Wright says the program now includes 36 dispensaries and 6,200 qualified patients.

The Urbana City Council has approved an ordinance to lower the fine for possessing less than 30 grams of marijuana from $300 to $50.

Illinois lawmakers are again trying to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana but face strong opposition from law enforcement and anti-pot advocates.

A market research company is growing pessimistic about Illinois medical marijuana, telling investors that retail sales could reach just $15.6 million in 2016. California-based ArcView Market Research released its projections Monday. The estimate comes from the company's annual guide to legal marijuana markets, co-published with New Frontier. ArcView CEO Troy Dayton says some Illinois marijuana businesses will fail if the slow pace of patient approvals continues. Only 4,000 Illinois patients can buy the drug at licensed dispensaries.

Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration has again rejected expanding the list of diseases that can be treated with marijuana in Illinois. The Department of Public Health announced the decision, spurning eight recommendations from an expert advisory board.

The panel had recommended post-traumatic stress disorder, which affects many military veterans. Also recommended and rejected were autism, irritable bowel syndrome, osteoarthritis and four pain syndromes.

Illinois residents who want to add specific diseases to the state's medical marijuana pilot program have another chance to submit suggestions during January.  The Illinois Department of Public Health will accept petitions starting Jan. 1 and continuing through the month.  The program allows people to suggest new diseases for the program twice annually, in January and July. An advisory board reviews suggestions and makes recommendations. 

A Chicago lawmaker plans to try again next spring to drop criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Democratic Represetative Kelly Cassidy plans to announce her proposal Thursday in Chicago. The General Assembly endorsed a Cassidy-sponsored plan last spring to impose fines for possession of marijuana. Republican Governor Bruce Rauner used his power to lowered the amount of marijuana allowed to 10 grams from 15 grams in Cassidy's plan, and impose fines of $100 to $200 instead of $55 to $125.