Editor's Note: The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act was signed by Ill. Governor Quinn Aug. 1, 2013, and became effective Jan. 1, 2014. According to the state's Department of Agriculture (DOA) website, the DOA was "charged with registering and regulating up to 22 cultivation centers allowed in the law." Per the website, 15 cultivation centers were approved.
Medical marijuana dispensaries have opened across the state for the first time since Nov. 9 when the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program began. Among them was Dispensary 33, a medical marijuana dispensary located in the Andersonville/Uptown area at 5001 N. Clark St.
Dispensary 33, which held an open house on November 14-15, is one of many 15 dispensaries in Ilinois that sells medical marijuana to people with one of 30 qualifying conditions, including cancer, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis and Tourette’s.
"We're much more focused on the patient experience and we're not trying to be like a doctor's office," said Richard Park, director of education and outreach at Dispensary 33. "It's going to compel us to procure really high quality stuff."
