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* Mike Sneed has the scoop on yet another missed opportunity…
In the wake of Gov. Pat Quinn’s exit from office Monday, Sneed has learned he will NOT give a green light to Illinois license applications to cultivate and distribute medical marijuana — and will toss a safety wrench into the marijuana mix.
Sneed has also learned Gov. Quinn, who had been urging caution in the state’s medical marijuana process, will sign legislation Monday to further tighten the new medical marijuana laws.
Under the changes Quinn is signing into law, the Department of Agriculture will have the power not only to revoke marijuana growers’ licenses, but also to suspend them.
Quinn will also announce the first dozen appointments to the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, which will ultimately have 16 members, including patients and doctors.
Translation: The Illinois Department of Agriculture and Public Health will NOT issue medical marijuana licenses before Quinn leaves office and Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner will inherit the responsibility.
Ugh.
*** UPDATE *** House Deputy Majority Leader Lou Lang, who was the chief sponsor and longtime advocate of medical marijuana…
“The inexplicable unwillingness of Governor Quinn to finish the job on the medical marijuana program means one thing: unnecessary prolonged pain and suffering of very sick people. The people suffering from cancer, epilepsy will be further victimized by the governor’s failure to do his job.
“Starting on day one, I will work with the Rauner Administration to finish the work on the medical marijuana licenses that Governor Quinn left behind.”
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:06 am
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You signed the bill brah. It doesn’t matter if you issue the licenses or not. It’s already part of your fictional legacy dude.
Comment by Lil Squeezy Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:08 am
Up with no smoke..
Comment by Mouthy Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:16 am
Medical marijuana is legal in many states now. Recreational is legal in a few. This is fairly routine stuff. A normal person would’ve just issued the licenses so that people suffering could get the benefits.
You wouldn’t think someone that will be out of office in less than 2 hours would care about wearing the jacket for this (as if there will even be such a jacket).
Of course, if he thinks he’s running for office in the future, well …
Comment by Roamin' Numeral Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:18 am
Rich - didn’t you mean DFPR, not DPH? DPH is issuing the patient cards. DFPR will issue the dispensary licenses.
Comment by Joe Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:20 am
Oops, that was Sneed getting it wrong. Much less surprising.
Comment by Joe Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:21 am
So Quinn’s “legacy” includes keeping hundreds of ill people waiting even longer. And turning the process over to a new governor with a very contrary view of the purposes behind the law.
The Michigan med mar law is so wide open, Detroit has 180 virtually unregulated dispensaries. In Illinois, the law is so burdensome very few of the people who need it will get it.
Don’t let the door…
Comment by Langhorne Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:22 am
The political took precedence over the important. It was that way a lot. If he was concerned though, there might be something to be concerned about. Let’s keep our eyes on this.
Comment by A guy Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:22 am
All sorts of speculation about the alleged “clout heavy” firms who are in line for licenses. Quinn doesn’t want a series of “watchdog” investigative reports from Chicago media reporting that he awarded contracts to the firms. I always liked Rauner’s idea of auctioning off the licenses to the highest bidding qualified firm anyway. Unfortunately, that will delay things even more.
Comment by Ricky J. Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:26 am
This solidifies his legacy - a legacy on non-accomplishment
Comment by Reformed Public Servant Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:26 am
So much for the wild-eyed claims that Quinn was going to give them to friends and allies like Lavin.
Should have worked faster, though.
Comment by walker Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:33 am
I can’t imagine this is high on the priority list for Governor-elect Rauner…there is also a serious absence of collaboration (patience, dispensaries, cultivators) - at least right now - to try to move this up as a priority and education the incoming administration.
Comment by Get it together Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:38 am
== All sorts of speculation about the alleged “clout heavy” firms who are in line for licenses ==
For the most part, it’s not speculation this time. Many of the ==ground floor== opportunities were locked down before the ink was even dry from the bill signing.
== the Department of Agriculture will have the power not only to revoke marijuana growers’ licenses, but also to suspend them ==
That seems like a pretty standard regulatory power, unless there is more to this part of the bill.
As for not issuing the licenses, the law is the law and they should be issued unless there are plans of opening the process up to an auction or making other changes.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:42 am
I know some of the people who actively lobbied with Rep. Lang to get the bill passed in the first place. They aren’t going to wait patiently for the Rauner administration to act. I’m sure they’ve already been contacting the transition team and they won’t let up until this is done.
There should be no good reason for Rauner’s team to slow this down. There are many people who could benefit from this, why prolong their suffering?
Comment by 47th Ward Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:45 am
The delay doesn’t surprise me. This thing was way to big and complicated for the state to accomplish expeditiously.
Comment by Norseman Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:50 am
PQ was great at the photo op bill signing.and then typical PQ, he dropped the ball on implementation.. embarrassing
Comment by Not Rich Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:52 am
Classless to the his bitter end !
Comment by Gary Hutton Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 10:56 am
I guess some folks are more ‘good and true’ than others…
Comment by OneMan Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:08 am
Kudos to Lang! Quinn let the state down today by taking the easy road and leaving the job to Rauner’s group. I believe he was worried about who would get the licenses (who was connected to him) instead of being more concerned about the patients he hailed as deserving of this product. We spoke at the signing and I placed my trust in him to get the job done. I guess he’d rather have black mark on his name than stand bravely with the sick and dying. That’s OK Mr. Quinn, we’ll do this without you.
Comment by Sandy Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:12 am
== Lang lashes out at Quinn ==
There are few certainties in life: death, taxes, and Lou Lang being an outspoken supporter of drugs and gambling. /s
Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:30 am
I don’t blame Quinn — he has stuck to his convictions on utilities, gambling — and now medical weed — it fits his policy agenda.
If he had allowed for the licensing == he would have been accused of helping his chief of staff
legalizing weed and how its implemented is a serious thing — i’m sure he probably wish he had more time to study how to implement.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:30 am
~~~ i’m sure he probably wish he had more time to study how to implement.~~~
He had 1.5 years after the signing and prior to that. Plenty of time.
Comment by Sandy Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:36 am
Wow. I have not watched this that closely. I just assumed he’d follow through after the signing. Did others have a hint of this, or was it pretty much out of the blue?
Comment by Responsa Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:39 am
What is a safety wrench?
Comment by Excessively Rabid Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:45 am
I always respect the opinions of Norseman but in this case I disagree. If we were talking about decriminalizing marijuana for everyone that would be a big thing to implement properly in a short period of time. Medical marijuana isn’t nearly as complicated and he had time to get this done if he really wanted to, now those who are suffering and could get some relief from this are going to have to suffer longer.
Off topic a bit but one of Quinn vetoed the bobcat hunting bill over the weekend. While I’m not one that plans on hunting bobcats anyway this was something that DNR thoughtfully considered before giving their approval. The folks at DNR are far more knowledgeable about managing our wildlife resources than Quinn is and the bill passed by large majorities in both houses. Another strange decision by Quinn. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that he sided with the animal rights people rather than the Conservationists. I’m an independent that voted for Quinn when he ran against Bill Brady. That said I’m glad he’s gone, he was not a good Governor.
Comment by The Dude Abides Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 11:50 am
This wouldn’t be such a big deal if patients or caregivers could grow medical cannabis. People are really afraid of this plant for some reason and making such a restrictive and regulated industry so that people suffering from horrible diseases and illnesses can have access to cannabis is absurd. Natural medicine is different than synthesized pharmaceuticals yes, but if one looks at which medicine is killing people it aint the plant…
Comment by Abraham Froman Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 12:54 pm
Quinn proves on again we should have got rid of Gov. Lite 20 years ago.
At least he helped the Bobcats.
How do elect people like this?
Comment by Mokenavince Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 1:00 pm
“PQ was great at the photo op bill signing.and then typical PQ, he dropped the ball on implementation.” - Not Rich
Exactly. When it came to implementation, it is hard to imagine a worse 1-2 punch than Blagojevich - Quinn. The executive agencies are really in poor shape. It will be interesting to see if the new governor can right the ship.
Comment by Peloski Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 1:05 pm
Good thing that Quinn didn’t act because this program is so flawed that Rauner would do well, if he can, to simply start all over again. Good idea, really, simply to auction off the licenses with minimum bids (actually one of Rauner’s best ideas). Why not? Pre qualify the bidders with background checks and go to it. What’s happening now, with all the secrecy, is only going to lead to shenanigans and sweetheart deals. And if Lang thinks that suffering people can’t get pot now with relative impunity, he’s been smoking something.
Quinn is right. This shouldn’t be done until it can be done right, and it cannot be done right under the law as presently constituted.
Comment by Good Job Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 1:19 pm
Quinn = Jimmy Carter writ small
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 2:49 pm
This is inexcusable. The application fees alone totaled $5 mm, and I can only guess how much it cost to put those applications together. We’re talking millions and millions of dollars spent based on the State’s promise to award those licenses. sigh.
Comment by Soccermom Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 3:21 pm
Is the Illinois Department of Ag and the Department of Health qualified to do background checks? I haven’t seen anything mentioning that the Illinois State Police or the FBI cooperated and investigated backgrounds. Why not? Most of policy makers in Colorado admit that they went too far in legalizing recreational use of marijuana and should’ve taken their time in allowing cannabis for medical use. Maybe Quinn and company realized they should’ve done background checks much sooner than they did. We expect the state to do more while continuing to cut staff. Did the legislature make sure the 5 million raised would be used to fund the background process? With the problems other states are having with medical marijuana maybe we shouldn’t be so harsh criticizing Quinn’s people for taking too much time with the approval process. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Comment by nothingsurprisesme Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 7:43 pm
? Most of policy makers in Colorado admit that they went too far in legalizing recreational use of marijuana and should’ve taken their time in allowing cannabis for medical use.
Not sure who your “most policy makers” of Colorado are, but that state was a very early legalizer of medicinal weed- all the way back in 2000. I would guess that 13+ years of experience would have been enough time to come to some conclusions of the effect on society.
Pretty obvious where you are coming from, but it least do a little research before posting whoopers like this.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 12, 15 @ 8:56 pm
Here’s the worst case scenario for license applicants:
The Rauner administration conducts a review of the work that’s been carried out by Agriculture and IDFPR, and announces that they’ve found “problems” with the licensing process. The Rauner administration then refers the matter to the Office of Executive Inspector General and says they’ll wait for the OEIG investigation, and the whole pilot program grinds to a halt for the remaining 3 years.
Comment by Anon Tuesday, Jan 13, 15 @ 1:11 am