One of the big front-page stories we produced two weeks ago for the July Special Edition 2014 issue is that of the developments in the decriminalization effort Illinois is making toward marijuana…specifically, medical marijuana.
That which is still a crime punishable with prison time depending on the amounts a person is found with is now moving slowly toward legalization with a prescription. Medical marijuana is the big buzzword in Illinois now (pun fully intended) and as pointed out in the article, people who only a couple of years ago would have ostracized anyone for growing, possessing and using are now begging the state to site a grow op in their backyard…specifically, certain cities in the coverage area.
You can find out more in this article, Cities want weed farm, your evening Read the Lead from the front page of the July Special Edition 2014.
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SOUTHERN ILLINOIS—With the distribution of medical marijuana on the horizon in the state of Illinois, a number of municipalities downstate are frantically adding their cities to the lists of those that will be considered for selection for one of 22 Medical Marijuana Farm sitings.
However, it’s unlikely that 22 facilities—in reflection of Illinois’ 22 state police districts, which shows just how regulated the situation will be—are going to be enough to support the demand, mainly because the grow operations aren’t that large, and are going to be in enclosures in order to prevent random burglarizing and thieves taking off with weed.
Add the fact that there are only going to be 60 approved facilities to distribute the medical cannabis—and that most of those will be north of I-70—and downstate Illinois cities and counties are now faced with a scramble of investors and entrepreneurs who are courting them to site a grow operation on publicly-owned property.
At recent public meetings, these entrepreneurs, most often represented by attorneys (as there will be significant legal wrangling going on in the selection, siting, construction and operating process) have been giving their pitches as the state moves toward an industry that could begin to make a dent in Illinois’ budget crisis; but, more importantly, could prove to locals what science has known (but has been suppressed from telling) for millennia: that cannabis has health treatment properties that far outweigh the value of any pharmaceutical, and that are non-addictive and non-toxic to even the most desperately-ill….
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To read the rest of the article, simply click the headline above the excerpt if you have an online membership to the e-Edition, or click this link to get started with your subscription. Otherwise, we’ve made sure there are still copies of the July Special Edition 2014 paper available at the ROC One-Stop locations in West Frankfort, Johnston City and Marion; as well as Marion vendors Pit Road Racing downtown on the square, and Hunter’s Cover Barbershop on West DeYoung. In White County you can pick up the paper at our vendors there, East Side Package, Rock Bottom and Pundrake BP in Carmi; Grayville Shell Mart and Liquor Barn in Grayville; One-Stop in Enfield; and Mimmo’s Pizza in Norris City. Be sure you pick up your copy; the new one hits the stands July 22/23.