2 Sites in or Near Kane County Get OK for Medical Marijuana

kanecountyconnects / February 3, 2015 / Comments Off / Government, Health

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article and headline indicated that two Kane County sites received the OK for medical marijuana dispensaries. One of those prospective sites is in the city of Aurora but within the borders of DuPage County.

Come this fall, Kane County residents could get medical marijuana prescriptions filled at a convenient location on Route 59, near Golf Galaxy, Red Lobster and Babies R Us.

According to media reports and a list of 18 medical marijuana farming licenses and 52 selling licenses announced Monday by the State of Illinois, two companies were awarded contracts, including Healthway Services of West Illinois and Pharmacann, which could open at 1056 N. Route 59 in Aurora. There are a load of businesses that have started selling medical marijuana. If this is a business which you would like to get in to, or you already have a medical marijuana business. Then you might want to consider taking a look at SEO firms specializing in medical marijuana marketing to help get your business rank to the top of google.

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While that address is in Aurora, it falls within the borders DuPage County rather than in Kane.

The exact locations of the dispensaries and cultivation centers are hard to pinpoint, since geographic information was not included in the list of applicants to receive awards or licenses.

The information was further complicated by the fact that decisions on some of the applications are to be awarded “after further review.” Among the applications are those in District 2, which includes Kane County.

The surprise announcement came Monday in a statement by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s General Counsel Jason Barclay.

Cultivation centers probably won’t be able to get up and running for at least six months, with crops harvested in the fall. Dispensaries are expected to undergo a registration process during the next 120 days.

Statement by Jason Barclay, General Counsel, Office of the Governor

Governor Rauner directed our legal team to conduct a comprehensive review of the evaluation and selection process that the Quinn administration used to recommend applicants for licensure in the State’s Medical Cannabis Pilot Program.

His request was threefold. First, determine whether the process used by the Quinn administration followed the law. Second, share our findings with the Attorney General and determine what, if any, corrective actions need to be taken for any failures to fully comply with the law. Finally, recommend a plan of action that corrects any deficiencies and fully adheres to the spirit and letter of the law.

Our recently completed legal review identified four potential problem areas:

1) The review teams imposed certain arbitrary scoring “cut-offs” that were not expressly contemplated or provided by law that effectively eliminated certain applicants from consideration;

2) The agencies conducted a character and fitness review of the applicants after the blind scoring process had been completed;

3) As part of the character and fitness review, several applicants were disqualified without clear procedures and standards for disqualification and without offering the prospective applicants an opportunity to respond to the information that was relied upon to make the disqualification decisions; and

4) Despite seemingly contradictory language in the rules promulgated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the prior administration decided to award no more than one cultivation center license to applicants who were the high point scorers in more than one district.

We concluded that these problem areas create a risk of substantial and costly litigation to the State. We shared our findings and this conclusion with the Attorney General. Her staff conducted a prompt review and for that we thank them.

As a result of our consultation with the Attorney General, we have further concluded that there is a significant likelihood that the Quinn Administration’s decisions will not be upheld in court. We have also relied upon the Attorney General’s legal guidance and must now take all necessary corrective action to make sure that these licenses and permits are properly issued in compliance with the law.

As a result of these conclusions, we are therefore recommending the following actions:

1) Licenses and permits will be issued to the highest scorers in each district where the top scorer was not disqualified;

2) Cultivation center applicants that were high scorers in more than one district will be awarded permits up to the three permit limit that was expressly provided by 8 Illinois Administrative Code (the “IL Department of Agriculture Rules”) Section 1000.40(d);

3) The artificial and subjective scoring “cut-offs” that were imposed by the agencies will be eliminated and licenses and permits will be awarded to the high scorers in those districts regardless of their final point total; and

4) Any applicant that was recommended for disqualification will be fully informed of the basis for that decision, given an opportunity to respond in writing and/or in-person to the respective licensing agency’s director and general counsel to contest the recommendation, and a final written character and fitness decision will be made consistent with the relevant pre-established formal standards established by the IL Department of Agriculture Rules Section 1000.110(j) or 68 Illinois Administrative Code (the “IL Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Rules”) Section 1290.70(e) – (f).

These actions may result in some additional minimal delay in a limited number of districts and for that we apologize to the patient community. The Governor has requested that this process must be deliberate, fair, and fully comply with the law. In order to accomplish those important objectives, these additional steps are essential to correct the deficiencies of the previous administration’s selection process. Only then can the public have the fullest confidence that the law was followed and these licenses and permits were awarded for the right reasons.