First Kane County Medical Marijuana Dispensary Open for Business
The sale of medical cannabis to qualifying patients and caregivers begins today (Monday, Nov. 9, 2015) at eight illinois dispensaries located throughout the state, including one here in Kane County.
PharmaCannis Health & Wellness, 161 South Lincolnway St., Suite 301, North Aurora, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Tuesday and Sunday.
A list of the eight dispensaries that begin selling product today is available here.
Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Director Joseph Wright anticipates 12 to 15 medical cannabis dispensaries will be registered by the end of the November, with approximately 20 to 25 dispensaries registered throughout the state by end of the year. It’s also thought that some of the facilities will feature security guards for marijuana dispensaries as a means of protecting staff and patients. According to estimates from IDPH, there are 3,300 qualifying patients in Illinois. Medical Cannabis Registry Identification Cards began mailing to registered qualifying patients and caregivers on Oct. 30, 2015. There are loads of other places that you can get medical cannabis from though, as it’s becoming a more popular form of medicine to help people with their pain. If you are interested in finding out more then you can check out something like this medical cannabis certification in Columbia to help give you a better idea of where else people can get medical cannabis from.
As of Nov. 4, an estimated 26,300 individuals started the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program patient registry application process since the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications on Sept. 2, 2014. Of those, almost 4,300 have submitted a complete application. IDPH has approved applications for 3,300 qualifying patients and 20 persons under 18 years of age. IDPH began mailing medical cannabis registry identification cards to registered qualifying patients and caregivers on Oct. 30.
Qualifying patients and caregivers may visit any registered dispensary in the state, but must designate a single dispensary with the Illinois Department of Public Health in order to make a medical cannabis purchase. Patients can select a medical cannabis dispensary by completing and submitting a Medical Cannabis Dispensary Selection Form. A list of registered dispensaries is available through the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s website.
A Qualifying Patient for a Medical Marijuana Card:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
(minors must have an adult caregiver and be required to have physician certification from two doctors) - Must be a legal resident of Illinois with proof of residency
- Must complete Fingerprint consent form and 2” x 2” (passport-style) photograph
- Must have a certification signed by a doctor stating that the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the use of medical marijuana
- Must have a diagnosis with one of the qualifying debilitating conditions
The conditions that qualify for the Illinois Compassionate Use Act of Medicinal Cannabis Pilot Program are:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
- Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Arnold-Chiari malformation & Syringomelia
- Cachexia/wasting syndrome
- Cancer
- Causalgia
- Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
- Crohn’s disease
- CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type II)
- Dystonia
- Fibromyalgia (severe)
- Fibrous dysplasia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- Hydrocephalus
- Interstitial Cystitis
- Intractable Pain
- Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella syndrome
- Neurofibromatosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- RSD (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type I)
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Spinal cord disease, including but not limited to arachnoiditis, Tarlov cysts, hydromyelia, syringomyelia
- Spinal cord injury
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
- Tourette’s syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
SOURCES: Illinois.gov medical cannabis page, Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation, the PharmaCannis.com website
The PharmaCannis dispensary. CREDIT: www.pharmacannis.com/
