Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
A social media campaign is expected to begin this week, and temporary signs should go up on a downtown Springfield storefront within two weeks, to inform the public about a medical marijuana dispensary scheduled to open in November or December.
The owners of Health Central, based in Effingham, plan to spend $900,000 to renovate more than 5,000 square feet on the first floor of a building at 628 E. Adams St. for the dispensary, company spokesman Chris Stone said.
"A lot of that spending has to do with security," said Stone, a Springfield resident. "These are highly secure facilities."
The company, which recently requested building permits from the city of Springfield, continues to move forward with plans despite relatively sparse numbers of potential medical marijuana patients getting approval to participate in the statewide pilot program. The program is scheduled to end Jan. 1, 2018.
State officials won't provide any county-level or community-level breakdowns of the 2,800 Illinoisans who have been admitted to the program or the 3,500 who have completed the application process.
But Stone estimated that Health Central and the other company allowed by the state to seek registration for a local retail medical marijuana store - Maribis of Springfield - will serve a total of only 90 to 120 patients in their first year of operation.
That total could increase to thousands of patients if the state expands the number of ailments qualifying people for medical marijuana, and more doctors agree to recommend patients for the program, Stone said.
The administration of Gov. Bruce Rauner is considering adding 11 qualifying conditions to the 40 already allowed. The current conditions allowed by law include cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Advocates initially hoped for 10,000 to 15,000 patients in the first year. The potential market, if program regulations are ever loosened, has been estimated at 120,000 to 240,000 patients.
Maribis, owned by Laurel Dineff, a resident of the Chicago suburb of Summit, couldn't be reached for comment.
Maribis, however, is progressing in its plans to open Springfield's second dispensary at 322 E. Adams, at the southwest corner of Fourth and Adams streets. That's according to Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws.
Hiring Underway
At the Health Central site, about 1,500 square feet would be used by patients, Stone said. Only state-approved patients would be allowed inside, and there would be no free samples, he said.
The company has started to interview potential candidates for security workers and patient-care technicians. Twenty-four to 36 people may be hired, most of them part time, with pay ranging from $13 to $20 per hour, Stone said.
Applications will be accepted through the company's website: hcillinois.com.
Signs for the facility will carry the green cross - a symbol often used by the medical marijuana industry in the United States. A marijuana leaf will be displayed in signs only if marijuana becomes legal for recreational use in Illinois, Stone said.
The Health Central site, at Seventh and Adams, is three blocks east of the Maribis site. Both locations are a half-mile or less from the Illinois Capitol, where state lawmakers passed a bill that would extend the medical marijuana program to August 2019.
Rauner issued an amendatory veto of House Bill 3299. He asked the legislature to approve extending the program by only four months, to late April 2018.
Stone said Health Central, which also plans to open a dispensary in Collinsville, would like to see lawmakers override Rauner's veto.
Rather than an override, NORML would like to see lawmakers make the program permanent, Linn said.
'Learning Curve'
The biggest hurdle to expanding the number of patients in the program, Linn said, is reluctance among doctors - both in central Illinois and statewide - to fill out state certification forms for requesting patients that say the potential benefits of marijuana "will likely outweigh any health risks."
The form isn't a prescription, but it is an endorsement of sorts for medical marijuana for certain patients, and is required for patients' applications to be approved.
When asked about anecdotal reports of resistance from doctors, Dr. Scott Cooper, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said: "When there's something new, there's a learning curve. Not everyone jumps on something that's new right away."
The state medical society hasn't taken a stand for or against medical marijuana.
Doctors may fear being inundated with patients seeking relief from a substance still classified as illegal by the federal government, said Cooper, an emergency room doctor in Waukegan.
Some doctors may be uncomfortable with the lack of scientific data on effective and safe doses of marijuana to be consumed through smoking or through edible products, he added.
Doctors already have prescription drugs to treat the ailments cited in the law, Cooper noted, though he has heard advocates say medical marijuana offers better, safer relief from pain and other symptoms.
Doctors often learn about new drugs through marketing efforts by the drugs' manufacturers, Cooper said.
Physicians' views on medical marijuana might become more accepting as a result of such efforts, he said.
Health Central is planning to launch an education campaign, focused on local doctors and potential patients, in September or October, Stone said.
Some institutions already have gone on record as being opposed to taking part in the patient certification process, at least for now.
Among them is SIU HealthCare, the multi-specialty group of doctors at Springfield's Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
"SIU doctors are not allowed to sign off on medical marijuana certifications at this time due to lack of legal protection given the federal status of non-synthetic medical marijuana and lack of operational clarity regarding state legislative policy or protocol for prescribing it," SIU spokeswoman Rae Morrow Goldsmith said in a written statement.
Likewise, Springfield-based Memorial Physician Services, operated by the parent organization of Memorial Medical Center, is prohibiting its doctors from issuing medical marijuana certifications, spokesman Michael Leathers said Tuesday.
Leathers' statement noted that marijuana isn't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is classified as a controlled substance by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
It's unclear when Memorial's policy went into effect, because Stone said this week that he has spoken with Memorial doctors, as well as those from Springfield Clinic, who have filed certification forms as part of patients' applications.
A spokesman for Springfield Clinic couldn't be reached.
HSHS Medical Group isn't stopping its doctors from signing certification forms.
"We are leaving the decision of medical marijuana up to individual providers," Dr. Loren Hughes, the group's president, said in a statement. "The decision is a private matter between the patient and his/her health-care provider."
The medical group is part of the Catholic health system that operates HSHS St. John's Hospital.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Health Central makes preparations to open Springfield's first medical marijuana dispensary - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: dean.olsen@sj-r.com
Photo Credit: WIFR News
Website: Home - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
The owners of Health Central, based in Effingham, plan to spend $900,000 to renovate more than 5,000 square feet on the first floor of a building at 628 E. Adams St. for the dispensary, company spokesman Chris Stone said.
"A lot of that spending has to do with security," said Stone, a Springfield resident. "These are highly secure facilities."
The company, which recently requested building permits from the city of Springfield, continues to move forward with plans despite relatively sparse numbers of potential medical marijuana patients getting approval to participate in the statewide pilot program. The program is scheduled to end Jan. 1, 2018.
State officials won't provide any county-level or community-level breakdowns of the 2,800 Illinoisans who have been admitted to the program or the 3,500 who have completed the application process.
But Stone estimated that Health Central and the other company allowed by the state to seek registration for a local retail medical marijuana store - Maribis of Springfield - will serve a total of only 90 to 120 patients in their first year of operation.
That total could increase to thousands of patients if the state expands the number of ailments qualifying people for medical marijuana, and more doctors agree to recommend patients for the program, Stone said.
The administration of Gov. Bruce Rauner is considering adding 11 qualifying conditions to the 40 already allowed. The current conditions allowed by law include cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Advocates initially hoped for 10,000 to 15,000 patients in the first year. The potential market, if program regulations are ever loosened, has been estimated at 120,000 to 240,000 patients.
Maribis, owned by Laurel Dineff, a resident of the Chicago suburb of Summit, couldn't be reached for comment.
Maribis, however, is progressing in its plans to open Springfield's second dispensary at 322 E. Adams, at the southwest corner of Fourth and Adams streets. That's according to Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws.
Hiring Underway
At the Health Central site, about 1,500 square feet would be used by patients, Stone said. Only state-approved patients would be allowed inside, and there would be no free samples, he said.
The company has started to interview potential candidates for security workers and patient-care technicians. Twenty-four to 36 people may be hired, most of them part time, with pay ranging from $13 to $20 per hour, Stone said.
Applications will be accepted through the company's website: hcillinois.com.
Signs for the facility will carry the green cross - a symbol often used by the medical marijuana industry in the United States. A marijuana leaf will be displayed in signs only if marijuana becomes legal for recreational use in Illinois, Stone said.
The Health Central site, at Seventh and Adams, is three blocks east of the Maribis site. Both locations are a half-mile or less from the Illinois Capitol, where state lawmakers passed a bill that would extend the medical marijuana program to August 2019.
Rauner issued an amendatory veto of House Bill 3299. He asked the legislature to approve extending the program by only four months, to late April 2018.
Stone said Health Central, which also plans to open a dispensary in Collinsville, would like to see lawmakers override Rauner's veto.
Rather than an override, NORML would like to see lawmakers make the program permanent, Linn said.
'Learning Curve'
The biggest hurdle to expanding the number of patients in the program, Linn said, is reluctance among doctors - both in central Illinois and statewide - to fill out state certification forms for requesting patients that say the potential benefits of marijuana "will likely outweigh any health risks."
The form isn't a prescription, but it is an endorsement of sorts for medical marijuana for certain patients, and is required for patients' applications to be approved.
When asked about anecdotal reports of resistance from doctors, Dr. Scott Cooper, president of the Illinois State Medical Society, said: "When there's something new, there's a learning curve. Not everyone jumps on something that's new right away."
The state medical society hasn't taken a stand for or against medical marijuana.
Doctors may fear being inundated with patients seeking relief from a substance still classified as illegal by the federal government, said Cooper, an emergency room doctor in Waukegan.
Some doctors may be uncomfortable with the lack of scientific data on effective and safe doses of marijuana to be consumed through smoking or through edible products, he added.
Doctors already have prescription drugs to treat the ailments cited in the law, Cooper noted, though he has heard advocates say medical marijuana offers better, safer relief from pain and other symptoms.
Doctors often learn about new drugs through marketing efforts by the drugs' manufacturers, Cooper said.
Physicians' views on medical marijuana might become more accepting as a result of such efforts, he said.
Health Central is planning to launch an education campaign, focused on local doctors and potential patients, in September or October, Stone said.
Some institutions already have gone on record as being opposed to taking part in the patient certification process, at least for now.
Among them is SIU HealthCare, the multi-specialty group of doctors at Springfield's Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
"SIU doctors are not allowed to sign off on medical marijuana certifications at this time due to lack of legal protection given the federal status of non-synthetic medical marijuana and lack of operational clarity regarding state legislative policy or protocol for prescribing it," SIU spokeswoman Rae Morrow Goldsmith said in a written statement.
Likewise, Springfield-based Memorial Physician Services, operated by the parent organization of Memorial Medical Center, is prohibiting its doctors from issuing medical marijuana certifications, spokesman Michael Leathers said Tuesday.
Leathers' statement noted that marijuana isn't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is classified as a controlled substance by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
It's unclear when Memorial's policy went into effect, because Stone said this week that he has spoken with Memorial doctors, as well as those from Springfield Clinic, who have filed certification forms as part of patients' applications.
A spokesman for Springfield Clinic couldn't be reached.
HSHS Medical Group isn't stopping its doctors from signing certification forms.
"We are leaving the decision of medical marijuana up to individual providers," Dr. Loren Hughes, the group's president, said in a statement. "The decision is a private matter between the patient and his/her health-care provider."
The medical group is part of the Catholic health system that operates HSHS St. John's Hospital.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Health Central makes preparations to open Springfield's first medical marijuana dispensary - News - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: dean.olsen@sj-r.com
Photo Credit: WIFR News
Website: Home - The State Journal-Register - Springfield, IL
