After long wait, Illinois to issue medical marijuana licenses
From Foxnews.com
Illinois will begin issuing licenses to
grow and distribute medical marijuana 18 months after a law was
signed legalizing it, Governor Bruce Rauner's general counsel said in
a statement on Monday.
Former Democratic Governor Pat Quinn,
who supported medical marijuana, left office in January without
issuing licenses for growth and distribution, leaving it to Rauner, a
Republican, who asked for a review of the selection process.
Quinn's administration had prepared
lists of possible recipients based on scoring of applications. But
Rauner's team's review concluded that some applicants had been
disqualified without clear procedures, giving rise to legal
liabilities.
As a result, Rauner issued on Monday a
list of growers and dispensary operators who will receive permits and
licenses in many areas of the state, with some gaps that will be
filled in after review of applications that had been disqualified on
Quinn's preliminary list of recipients.
"Any applicant that was
recommended for disqualification will be fully informed of the basis
for that decision (and) given an opportunity to respond,"
Rauner's General Counsel Jason Barclay said in the statement.
Marla Levi, 51, a multiple sclerosis
patient of Buffalo Grove, Illinois who's been waiting for legal
medical marijuana, said she hopes the right candidates get licenses.
"I hope they put patients first, and not money," she said.
Several months could still go by before
medical marijuana is sold in Illinois. Winners must put up a bond,
pay license fees and register agents. Also, any marijuana sold in the
state must be grown in the state, which takes at least 4-1/2 months.
Illinois is one of 23 states along with
the District of Columbia that permit medical marijuana. Illinois'
trial program expires in 2017.
Read here: FoxNews.com
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