Marijuana Dispensaries may soon compete with Cook County Nature and Forest Preserve Marijuana Fields !

Past marijuana articles focused on the Cook County Nature and Forest Preserve District, with special attention given to the Crabtree Forest Preserve just over the border of Lake County in Cook County, IL, in the upscale community of  Barrington Hills.   A resolution still awaits as to how more than 38,000 plants worth up to $30 million were discovered growing in 11 separate fields just yards from busy roads and yards from the Barrington Hills Police Station.  

What has not been discussed so far is the legalization of marijuana for medical use here in Illinois, which would give high school students even more access to "weed" than they already have at their beck and call, this at a time when heavy teen marijuana use is rapidly rising across this nation. Legalization would spell real trouble here in Lake County and throughout the state of Illinois.

According to Steve Pasierb, President / CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org:  "Kids who begin using drugs or alcohol as teenagers are more likely to struggle with substance disorders when compared to those who start using after their teenage years."   A subsequent article will discuss the harm marijuana inflicts on the adolescent brain, which is not yet fully developed.  http://www.drugfree.org/newsroom/pats-2011   

Illinois is very close to legalizing medical marijuana.   In November Massachusetts joined 17 other states and the District of Columbia in permitting medical marijuana use, while Colorado and Washington ventured even further, legalizing the psychoactive herb for recreation. 

On the docket in the Illinois General Assembly for Wednesday, November 28, after having been defeated twice before, was to be a vote on HB 30, legalizing marijuana use for medical purposes, once again sponsored by Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. 

Illinois and our children have been saved momentarily. Lou Lang failed to call a vote on November 28 because he lacked the 60 votes needed for approval.  Lou Lang, however, is determined and will not drop the issue, but will keep trying even if HB 30 fails the third time during what remains of the Lame Duck veto sessions, bringing the bill up for a vote again in 2013.  http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/11/28/us/28reuters-usa-marijuana-illinois.htm?ref-marijuana

Even if HB 30 is finally is approved and enacted here in Illinois, Illinois would still have to establish its own production and distribution scheme for a substance that the federal government continues to prohibit as a Schedule 1 drug, along with heroin.  HB 30 would be in conflict with federal and Illinois zero tolerance drug laws.  http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-12-03/news/ct-met-medical-marijuana-20121203_1_medical-marijuana-lou-lang-reform-of-marijuana-laws 

It was somewhat of a surprise to learn that according to a Quinnipiac Poll released on December 5, a majority of American voters think that marijuana should be legal - 51% to 44%.  The biggest divide is on partisan and generational lines.  58% of Democrats and Independents support legalization, while only 31% of Republicans do.  Age wise, voters under the age of 30 support legalization by a greater than two-to-one margin.   Senior citizens are the only age group where a majority want marijuana to remain illegal.  http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2012/12/05/quinnipiac-poll-majority-of-american-voters-support-marijuana-legalization/

Senior citizens are not the product of a culture induced by the media and otherwise that makes it appealing and chic to do what their parents would have frowned upon and rejected when young.

What exactly is the nature of the HB 30, if passed, which would legalize medical marijuana here in Illinois? 

If you are now in favor of legalizing marijuana in Illinois, hopefully your will change your mind after reading the information below. You might even be motivated to call your representative and urge him/her to vote "NO" on HB 30, when its reintroduced again.   http://illinoisfamily.org/marriage/veto-session-medical-marijuana-in-the-land-of-lincoln/ 

1.  HB 30 allows the creation of 59 medical marijuana stores throughout the state - one for each state senate district in a three-year pilot program.


2.  HB 30 allows for a qualified patient to get 2-1/2 ounces of marijuana every 14 days (183 joints, 13 per day).  As the most experienced marijuana drug user smokes on the average three to four joints a day, that would leave roughly 135 joints or around 1.8 ounces.  Here is the catch:  The patient could sell the 1.8 ounces of marijuana for $250 to $550, which could be a problem for schools and teachers.

3.  HB would permit a qualified medical marijuana patient to drive a school bus or a car 6 hours after consumption.   Research shows that a single joint with a moderate level of THC can impair a person's ability to drive for more than 24 house, slowing reaction time, impairing motor coordination, limiting short-term memory, and making it difficult to concentrate and perform complex tasks. 

Anticipating the passage and singing of HB 30 in the near future, Lake Forest City officials, in order to get out in front of the issue, will soon decide potential locations areas for distribution facilities.  Might Barrington determine a marijuana dispensary location, perhaps in the Crabtree Nature Preserve building!  http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/16803544-781/lake-forest-tackles-medical-marijuana-issue.html

The Illinois Police Chief Association has come out against HB 30 for various safety reasons.  Beside permitting medical marijuana patients to wait only six hours to drive after consuming marijuana, it allows individuals younger than 18 to qualify for the program. 

What would prevent teen age medical marijuana users from giving what they don't need of their 14-day allotments to their buddies?  Who is say that the need for medical marijuana can't be faked or that unscrupulous doctors won't prescribe medical marijuana use when not warranted?

It would be foolish to believe, in corrupt Illinois, that criminal activity and exploitation would not result.   Repeat, this IS Corrupt Illinois !

Is the legalization of marijuana, or the condoning of it, worth the damage it could potentially inflict upon your high school age child/children or even younger?  

Marijuana IS a gateway drug to cocaine and heroin.  The approval of marijuana for medical purposes would put less of a stigma on trying marijuana, where before a measure of fear might have existed for experimentation to begin.  

Furthermore, medical marijuana permits will be as easy to get as SS Disability.  What a cruel joke on society.  Just another Leftist effort to undermine society, along with others who refuse to accept the truth about marijuana.