Cannabis Conditions Considered By Deerfield, Northbrook Trustees

DEERFIELD, IL — Village trustees in Deerfield and Northbrook are this week paving the way for a pair of cannabis dispensaries owned by the same firm to operate between Dundee and Lake Cook roads. But it remains uncertain whether either location could be open when the possession and retail sale of cannabis becomes legal in Illinois for those without medical cards on Jan. 1.

The Deerfield Village Board gave final approval Monday to zoning code amendments allowing for special use permits to be issued for recreational, or "adult-use," cannabis dispensaries. The firm Greenhouse Group LLC currently operates a medical cannabis dispensary in the village at 151 Pfingsten Road.

In Northbrook, where trustees have already made changes to zoning code, the plan commission is conducting its second public hearing Tuesday on Greenhouse Group's application to open up a recreational dispensary on the site of a vacant rehab facility and gas station at 755 Skokie Blvd. and 430 Dundee Road.

Depending on decisions made by elected officials in Glencoe later this year, Deerfield and Northbrook's proposed dispensaries are poised to become the North Shore's only recreational cannabis retailers between Skokie and Highwood.

Under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act signed into law June 25, each of the existing 55 licensees permitted to operate medical cannabis dispensaries are allowed to pursue both "same-site" and "second-site" licenses for the sale of cannabis to all adults aged 21 and up. But even if the operators receive permission from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to sell recreational cannabis, they still require the go-ahead from local governments.

Municipalities with home rule authority have the option of opting out of allowing adult-use cannabis dispensaries in a way they are not able to do when it comes to writing regulations for medical dispensaries or medical patients growing up to six plants at home. So far at least one licenseholder has been blocked by local officials from selling adult-use cannabis at its medical dispensary.

Deerfield

Mayor Harriet Rosenthal called a special meeting of the village board's committee of the whole last week following the Oct. 21 first reading of a zoning code amendment that would open the door for a potential recreational dispensary in the area of Pfingsten and Lake Cook roads. According to the minutes from Wednesday's meeting, trustees heard presentations from a pair of doctors who offered differing opinions regarding whether the village should establish permits allowing recreational cannabis to be sold in the village.

At the Oct. 30 special meeting, Dr. Aaron Weiner, director of addiction services Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Naperville gave a presentation following a request to the mayor made a few days earlier by Deerfield resident Anne Flaminio who described Weiner as a "leading authority on the impact of legal cannabis on communities." Marijuana is an addictive substance and "assertions otherwise are either anecdotal or the outcome of pubic misinformation efforts," according to Weiner's presentation materials. Weiner told trustees he believes any intoxicating substance use is bad and access should not be expanded, according to minutes from the meeting.

Although he was not included on the special meeting’s agenda, Dr. Jay Joshi, the medical director and chief executive officer of Vernon Hills-based National Pain Centers, was also invited to speak to the board after state Rep. Bob Morgan, the Deerfield Democrat who was the first administrator of the state’s medical cannabis program under former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, approached Rosenthal and asked if she was interested in hearing from an additional expert, according to village staff. Joshi discussed the role of pharmaceutical companies and physicians in over-prescribing addictive and incorrect drugs to patients, as well as the negative impact of unregulated cannabis being sold on the illicit market. Joshi told trustees medical cannabis can improve patient outcomes, according to the minutes. Although he said he does not advocate for the recreational sale of marijuana, Joshi said people will obtain it one way or the other and it would be safer and more beneficial to have government oversight and control over an otherwise unregulated substance.

The Deerfield village board previously approved the ordinance on first reading to the ordinance following nearly 90 minutes of comment from the public at its Oct. 22 meeting.

The version of Deerfield's ordinance that was adopted Nov. 4 on a 5-1 vote was been modified since it was introduced last month. Instead of requiring two forms of identification for cannabis purchasers, as Rosenthal suggested last month, employee have the option of demanding a second ID if they suspect a buyer is underage. More significantly, the amended version of the ordinance would, if passed, would likely not take effect until nearly two months after legalization. That's because village officials added a clause tying the effective date to the adoption of administrative rules by state regulators.

The additional clause gives trustees 60 days after rules are adopted by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Department of Agriculture to declare the ordinance null and void with a single vote before it becomes effective. The legalization bill requires state agencies to publish their rules within 180 days of the signing of its signing — making the deadline for state regulators Dec. 23. The village board would then have until Feb. 21, 2020, to reverse their decision for any reason. If trustees take no further action for 60 days after the release of the state agencies' rules, the ordinance takes effect. A business may only then seek a special use permit to sell cannabis to adults.

According to village staff, no businesses have yet applied to open a recreational dispensary in Deerfield. Under the proposed zoning ordinance, there are only four locations where a recreational dispensary could potentially operate. They include its existing Greenhouse medical dispensary. But if its parent company granted a "same-site" license from the state and a permit from the village, that would prevent any of the other three potential Lake Cook Road locations from ever operating due to the state-mandated 1,500-foot buffer zone between recreational cannabis facilities.

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Northbrook

Following about three hours of public comment, Northbrook trustees voted unanimously at their Oct. 22 meeting to adopt zoning regulations that would allow for a special use permit to be issued to the Greenhouse Group for a new recreational dispensary at the corner of Skokie Boulevard and Dundee Road. Trustees decided to allow potential dispensaries to operate between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. in commercially zoned areas that are not downtown and at least 250 feet away from any schools or day cares.

Most of the several dozen speakers who offered public comment at the meeting opposed allowing any adult-use cannabis businesses in town. Many wore matching white and orange "Opt Out" t-shirts.

Trustee Muriel Collison said the village would have all of the burdens of cannabis legalization with no control over its sale if it did not allow for recreational cannabis.

"I'm just not comfortable passing on control and regulation and a stream of revenue, when our village is going to be burdened with any negative impacts that may come with legalization of recreational cannabis," Collison said. "We may have increased traffic, increased in impaired driving, traffic accidents, psychotic episodes, but we are going to have those regardless of if we have a dispensary or not."

Collison said local high school students already have access to cannabis from illicit sources. She said she would propose that the village set aside a portion of its cannabis tax revenue for anti-drug, anti-alcohol and anti-vaping educational campaigns in schools.

"I hear the parents in this room. I'm a parent too. I'm concerned about my children just as you are," she said. "Basically saying that we're not going to have a dispensary in this town is not making the problem going away. It's not. We're going to be putting protections and safeguards for our kids and for our village."

Trustee Kathryn Ciesla pointed out voters in the village supported the legalization and sale of recreational cannabis by a margin of 66 to 34 percent in Cook County advisory referendum last year.

"I think that's very significant. I think in the privacy of the voting booth people are much more apt to be honest about their personal health use, about their personal feelings on the issue, rather than a meeting in a public forum, for many reasons," Ciesla said.

Ciesla said the village's cannabis retailer regulations should be consistent with the ones it imposes on liquor stores. She proposed amendments, which were later adopted, to extend the potential opening hours from by two hours in the morning and one hour at night (approved 5-1 with Collison voting against), to reduce the minimum distance from daycares and schools (approved 4-2 with Trustees Collison and Bob Israel voting no) and to forbid recreational cannabis businesses from the Village Green area (approved 4-3, with Village President Sandy Frum joining Trustees Ciesla, Heather Ross, JoJo Hebl to pass the deciding vote.)

Trustee Bob Israel said marijuana was readily available when he was in high school and remained so when his children attended Glenbrook North High School a decade ago. He said he did not favor a recreational dispensary solely to increase revenue, but to increase safety by decriminalizing cannabis transactions.

"I see before us the opportunity to take what was once a clandestine exchange and shine daylight on it. For those adults who wish to partake in this substance, this offers the opportunity to reduce or eliminate the risk from this transaction, risk from additives or robberies or exposure to other substances possibly sold from these illegal sources," Israel said. "I know people personally whose lives were ruined by marijuana — not by usage, but because of the criminalization of the possession or exchange of the substance and the resulting incarceration."

Trustee Jason Han, who before the meeting announced plans to resign from the board at the end of the year, cited his personal experience taking part in what he described as a racially inequitable drug war.

"I heard a lot of fear in this room, and that fear is real. It's based on something that is valid," Han said. "There is a cost to cannabis. I know, because I know people who are addicted to cannabis. And I used to be an assistant state's attorney, a prosecutor, and I would have to enforce laws like 'possession of cannabis.' And most of the faces that I saw in the courtrooms — when I would tell the defendants, 'You've been charged, we're accusing you and we have the evidence to prove you guilty' — most of those faces were black and brown."

Han said despite the risks of cannabis, he did not believe that it does the harm to society, especially compared to alcohol and nicotine, that the government has claimed in the past. He said he also knows people who are addicted to alcohol and other things. Addiction, Han said, is a symptom of loneliness, isolation and loss of hope, and voting to allow a recreational marijuana dispensary is the "right thing to do and the just thing to do."

Trustee Ross said she has for years supported cannabis legalization for social justice reasons.

"I felt that the system, and society, had used marijuana and its illegality to disproportionately harm people of color," Ross said. "Studies have shown that white people and people of color use marijuana at the same rates, but yet if you are black or brown you're four more times more likely to be arrested and incarcerated which leads to a continuing path of being unable to be employed."

Ross addressed arguments against allowing cannabis retailers in town, which she boiled down to concerns over crime, increased use and damaging the village's reputation or brand.

"I see Northbrook's brand as being a progressive community, an inclusive and welcoming community that doesn't really categorize people I don't believe that allowing a recreational dispensary will weaken our brand," she said. As for crime, she pointed to a a recent study published in Justice Quarterly that found no statistically significant long-term effects of recreational cannabis laws in Colorado or Washington. "Finally is the rise in usage, perhaps by adults and by teens. I think that if we were to opt out, there are other places that our teens and the adults will go to," she said. "I have more fear of not having our own community have the opportunity to regulate. And if we give that up, we're sort of giving up control for everything and still dealing with the problems."

Trustee Hebl said the board represents not just those who attend meetings and said she did not not see a significant different between selling cannabis and alcohol and noted the village issued more than 40 liquor licenses last year.

"Over and over tonight I heard the concerns about cannabis use and minors, and I agree. But we are not speaking about sales to minors, and I want the ability to yank the license of any dispensary that attempts to sell to underage kids, and ability to put them out of business if they do so. If they're located outside of Northbrook we do not have that control or influence."

Hebl said she hoped the measure would begin a great conversation about addition in the village.

"We are not talking about addiction in this community, and I think it's long past time to start," she said. "Not everybody that takes opioids, drinks alcohol or consumes cannabis will become an addict but I've witnessed first-hand loved ones battle addiction and fight the daily fight for recovery. And those in recovery, they're my heroes and I'm proud to know them.

President Frum thanked residents for attending and sending a "plethora of emails" and other communication on the subject.

"I think it's been very, very helpful," she said. "And we did listen."

The Northbrook Plan Commission is scheduled to consider recommending the proposed Greenhouse Group dispensary at its Nov. 5 meeting. Greenhouse wants to combine two parcels — the former sites of Rehabilitation Center of Chicago and a Marathon gas station — and rezone them into commercial space. The village board could consider the commission's recommendation as early as its Nov. 12 meeting.

At an initial hearing Oct. 15, commissioners agreed the zoning variations Greenhouse has requested are all reasonable. The company's plan for the site involves demolishing the former gas station and replacing it with green space and a sign that says, "Northbrook." Greenhouse has yet to be issued a license by state regulators to sell cannabis to non-medical marijuana cardholders at either its existing Deerfield location or its Northbrook location.

Update: 1st Recreational Marijuana Shop In Skokie Planned For Old Orchard

The Greenhouse Group is owned by GR Companies, which uses the brand name "Grassroots." In July, Massachusetts-based Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. announced it had signed an agreement to acquire Grassroots, which it described as the nation's "largest private vertically-integrated multi-state operator" in a deal worth about $875 million in cash and stock. The acquisition would make Curaleaf the world's largest cannabis company, according to the announcement of the deal.

More: Which North Suburban Communities Are Moving To Permit Recreational Cannabis Dispensaries?

• Buffalo Grove - Yes
• Evanston - Yes
• Highwood - Yes
• Niles - Yes
• Northbrook - Yes
• Park City - Yes
• Skokie - Yes
• Deerfield - Yes, pending zoning
• Waukegan - Yes, pending zoning
• Wheeling - Yes, pending zoning
• Zion - Yes, pending zoning
• Gurnee - Maybe
• Rosemont - No, pending referendum
• Wilmette - No, pending referendum
• Glenview - No
• Highland Park - No
• Lake Bluff - No
• Lake Forest - No
• Libertyville - No
• Lincolnshire - No
• Park Ridge - No
• Winnetka - No
• Vernon Hills - No