April 18, 2014 6:21 AM
Chicago AP
CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois regulators crafting the first rules for the state’s new medical marijuana industry have lowered patient fees and deleted a section that angered gun owners.
Patients would pay $100 a year to apply for a medical marijuana card in Illinois under the revised preliminary rules unveiled Friday for the state’s four-year pilot program. Disabled people and veterans would pay $50 annually.
The fees were reduced from the $150 and $75 first proposed by the Illinois Department of Public Health following complaints from patients.
Guns had overshadowed other issues when the draft regulations were introduced in January. Some patients had said they would rather continue to use marijuana illegally rather than give up their firearms owners ID cards, as the draft rules had first required. Complaints poured in from gun owners. Many said their rights were being trampled.
“I’m happy to see that they have changed the provision,” said Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, who sponsored the medical cannabis legislation and sits on the committee that will vote on the rules. “I did ask them to remove it. I’m not the only person who did.”