Illinois: Number of Medical Marijuana Patients Doubles
Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program had nearly 8,000 approved patients in early July, up from 4,000 patients at the beginning of the year according to the state Department of Public Health.
Lawmakers approved the pilot program in 2013 but legal cannabis sales to patients began Nov. 9, 2015.
Joe Friedman, co-owner of PDI Medical, a cannabis dispensary in suburban Buffalo Grove, said restrictive legislation slowed the growth of the program. “I think the program has been under a lot of pressure because we haven’t been able to approve new conditions, we definitely need to educate more patients and more doctors, but it’s a slow process.”
Medical marijuana experts say Illinois’ program needs 120,000 patients to support the industry.
There are pending lawsuits against the Department of Public Health seeking to add more conditions to the eligibility list including intractable pain, osteoarthritis and irritable bowel syndrome.
Although the Illinois Medical Cannabis...
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