Contributor: KC Scannell
I can still remember the early days of marijuana legalization like it was yesterday. Probably because it wasn’t really that long ago. Before recreational use became legal in my home state of California, I, like many other eager marijuana enthusiasts had to resort to getting a medical card. Which is just a fancy way of saying we found a doctor who knew the benefits of cannabis, and the plethora of ways it could help improve one’s life, and signed off on our usage of the wonderful plant.
Illinois Cannabis Clubs To Remain Exclusive Early On In 2020
Then, in little droves, we’d scurry our way over to the nearest dispensary and procure our goods. In the early days, these places weren’t even close to as present in society as they are now. The thought of seeing a billboard covered in cannabis-related advertisements seemed like something out of a stoney-dream. However, in today’s day and age of recreational approval, sights like that are present on every street corner.
However, the same can’t be said about every state – yet. But it seems as though that is starting to change. Especially in more central places of the nation, like Illinois, for example. Though they have allowed their residents to pick up medicinal marijuana, via a recommendation from their physician, they will soon be able to grab some ganja without any sort of medical approval whatsoever. And that sort of legislative movement is almost euphoric.
The freedom of walking into a legitimate, completely legal (and licensed) storefront to purchase some marijuana will never get old. For years, I used to have to risk my safety to pick up my medicine from less-than-savory characters. But since the brilliant passing of recreational marijuana, I have been able to live a much better life. Soon, the fine people of Chicago will be able to enjoy the same overwhelming feeling of joy.
On January 1, 2020
the recreational use of marijuana will be legal in the great state of Illinois. One would readily assume that, much like a “snow day” with cancelled schools, the streets would be filled with smiling stoners, each on their way to pick up some newly legal goods from their local dispensary. But that’s the thing – there are not going to be enough dispensaries to serve the whole state. To be honest, they won’t even have enough locations to serve the city of Chicago, most likely.
Recently, Chicago residents were a bit bummed to hear that there won’t be any new dispensaries readying themselves for the “big day.” Instead, since there won’t be enough time to jump through all the legal hoops necessary to open such a business, folks will have to rely on the 11 locations in the city that currently cater to only the medicinal crowd.
When you first hear that there are 11 shops, you might think that is more than enough. But that wouldn’t be the most accurate thought. For those unaware, cannabis clubs and dispensaries that only serve medicinal patients in search of bud, are very small. Most of them don’t get much larger than a donut shop, to be quite honest. With such a small piece of real estate to work with, that can only mean that their supply room (and overall supply) is going to be limited. Up until this point of recreational legalization, all of that made sense. I mean, seeing as how their clientele was limited, they didn’t need a whole lot of space or product. But with the entire state cleaning out their pieces and pipes in preparation for the “big day” these little establishments are sure to be bombarded by hoards of eager stoners.
There was a piece of state legislation that passed, in concert with the recreational use law, that allows existing medicinal shops to cater to recreational customers, with the chance to open additional recreational storefronts for every license that they possess. There is also an additional 75 licenses that folks across the state can apply for, in order to open up a dispensary in their neck of the woods. The creators of the licenses have made sure to help out those who are in crime-heavy, poverty-stricken neighborhoods – with the hope that these businesses will help improve the overall quality of life in these areas.
That isn’t the only restriction being set in place. Apparently, the number of marijuana dispensaries that cater to recreational customers can’t exceed a certain amount. To be specific, each district can only have 7 at a time, but that has the potential to double by May – but that’s only if things go “as planned” with the passing of recreational marijuana in Illinois. At that point, a whole other group of licenses will be made available to companies and farmers who don’t have “skin in the game” so to speak. By that I mean, they will reserve these spots and give them to people who don’t currently have any dispensaries or shops in the state. Which will do wonders for the competition of this heavily-crowded industry.
Applicants will have to adhere to new rules in a lottery system. This will help operators in the area figure out which of the districts deserve dispensaries the most. Once selected, via the lottery, they are legally forced to have (at least) one meeting with the community where they intend to set up shop. This offers a level of honesty and transparency with the residents who live in this area, and allows them to ask any and all questions they may have, as well as address any legal or criminal concerns they may be curious about.
But all that isn’t going to happen for quite a bit of time still. Which means that Illinois residents who are in need of some recreational bud will have to flock to the same area of the state in order to even try to get their hands on some products. But, chances are, each of these locations will either be packed to the brim with new customers and/or selling out of product in record time. I wish there was some advice that I could bestow upon my fellow stoners out there in Illinois, but come January, the entire marijuana industry in that area will be an absolute cacophony of chaos – but I mean that in the best way.
There won’t be any riots or anything of that nature. The streets of Chicago are likely to be full of stoned smiles and long lines. As I mentioned above, the state is already in the process of handing out 75 dispensary licenses to folks who pass a thorough vetting procedure. In a matter of weeks, the number of available dispensaries will likely double – if not multiply exponentially overnight.
All this to say that, while it will be fun to legally smoke marijuana recreationally for the first time in Illinois on January 1, 2020 – the likelihood of being able to calmly walk into an empty dispensary to pick up some legal goods is probably going to be fairly slim. Once the crowds die down, the number of dispensaries will increase, and picking up bud in (or around) Chicago will become just as easy as ordering a deep-dish pizza. Which come to think of it, will probably see a spike in sales as well. I mean, the “munchies” are an inevitable part of the legalization process too. So, fire one up (and save me a slice) because January is going to be a blast!
