Potential recreational marijuana dispensary approaches city of Lincoln
Part Two:  City constituents and aldermen raise questions

 

[August 29, 2019] 

LINCOLN 

At the Tuesday night meeting of the Lincoln City Council, residents Wanda Lee Rohlfs and Paul Alan Carder addressed the council at the beginning of the evening regarding the city’s consideration of permitting a recreational marijuana dispensary.

To get a dispensary, the city would have to approve it by ordinance, and would also need to establish its local sales tax rate, which may be up to three percent.

The business developers – Eli McVey and April Glosser, would then file an application with the state for the retail business.

The state will choose a total of 75 new recreational only dispensaries to open after May 1st, 2020.

Logan County will be part of the West Central Block. Within each block the state will grant permits for recreational dispensaries adding 75 recreational licenses. The current 55 medical dispensaries would add recreational product and those sites would be allowed to double in locations for 110 dual sales sites.

Ultimately, Illinois plans for 185 recreational marijuana retail sites, 110 of those would include medical product sales.

Before McVey and Glosser spoke, aldermen heard from Wanda Lee Rohlfs. Rohlfs is a retired teacher with Lincoln Community High School and gave an account of a personal experience she had with a female student who had overdosed, how disturbing it had been for Rohlfs, and also for the girl’s parents who didn’t know she was using drugs.

She went on to offer some of her personal research results that she said studies had been done in states where recreational marijuana is legal already. The studies show results that she feels are not good and not what she as a constituent wants to see become reality in Lincoln.

She quoted that in legal states consumption among college students increases substantially. There is also evidence of a dramatic increase in calls to poison control centers and increased visits to emergency rooms in those states. She said it is a fact that marijuana impacts a person’s ability to function and one doctor in particular issued serious warnings about the hazards of people driving while under the influence.

Additionally, she said there is evidence that black market trade increases. She said black market foregoes the taxes and can sell cheaper than dispensaries, thus the black market thrives.

And, she noted that local law enforcement agencies in legal states are struggling with how to enforce the laws that do exist, and have difficulty navigating through it all.

She added that in regard to medical marijuana, she is very much in favor of that, but she also noted that at least one pharmacist in Illinois is speaking out because medical dispensaries are not managed by pharmacists. That person believes that the state should be controlling the situation by assuring that medical cannabis is dispensed only by real pharmacies.

Rohlfs wrapped up saying that if the city allows a recreational dispensary, then the city is responsible for the consequences. She said yes, she agreed that if they don’t get their marijuana in Lincoln, consumers will go elsewhere. However, she said that as a citizen of the city, she does not want to feel responsible if something goes terribly wrong for one of those consumers.

Paul Alan Carder also addressed the council. Carder is a medical marijuana consumer. He explained that as such, he had to go to Peoria and get approved for medical usage. He was written a prescription, and is registered with the state as a marijuana patient. When he drives to Springfield to get his prescription refilled, he presents a state issued card. On the packaging he said there is a barcode that states where the marijuana was sold, who grew it, and who bought it. All that information is registered with the state, and the state has an exact record of every transaction involving Carder.

Carder said he wanted to know whether or not he would be able to fill his prescription in Lincoln at a recreational dispensary and would the dispensary offer a wide variety of products that would include the products he uses – mostly edibles and topical applications.

He concluded saying that everyone knows this is going to happen somewhere, so it might just as well be Lincoln. He said he would love to buy locally and save himself the trip to Springfield every couple of weeks. He also noted that Cresco Labs, located just outside of town is expanding. He said that from what he can see, it looks like the facility that grows medical marijuana only is at least tripling in size. He noted that no one ever talks about Cresco, that there was no big hullabaloo when the lab moved into the county, so why should there be a fuss over a retail dispensary.

Carders comments about Cresco prompted a couple of questions from Alderman Kathryn Schmidt. She wanted to know first was the city benefitting from that lab in tax revenues. City Treasurer Chuck Conzo said the city is not. The county is, he said, as well as local schools and other taxing bodies in the assessment of property tax.

Schmidt also wanted to know if Cresco was in the retail business. Kevin Bateman, who was on the county board when Cresco was permitted to build its facility, said that there is no retail business at Cresco. Cresco is a growing facility that produces a number of varieties of Cannabis that is then sold whole sale to medical dispensaries within the region.

Bateman added that he believes the expansion project at Cresco is in anticipation of a broader market when the recreational retailers start selling in January. He said that it is his understanding that local retailers will be expected to purchase from certified production plants within their regions, so Cresco will probably be the provider for a retail shop opened in Lincoln.

Bateman would later emphasize that retail establishments must buy from production facilities such as Cresco, they can’t just buy off of anyone on the street, or from private growers.

A third person in the audience also asked if the city would be considering doing ‘grower permits.” Sam Downs and Bateman both said that was a separate issue and the city was not near ready “to go there.” Bateman explained that the grower permit is more commonly used in areas where there are no production plants like Cresco. With that permit, a grower may sell his product to a dispensary. He added that with Cresco right outside town, he didn’t see that the city would ever need to consider growers permits.

During the presentation by McVey and Glosser, Schmidt posed an additional question. Considering the taxation of the legal sale, why did McVey believe that the black market would decline? She said it didn’t make much sense.

McVey said that it would be a bit of a tricky situation for a while, but that trends show that the black market does die down. He said dispensaries will work to compete against the black market, and while, yes, it will be expensive, the cost over time at dispensaries will probably come down.

He added that black market sales and possession will still be illegal and punishable by law starting with fines and leading up to arrests and jail time depending on the severity of the violations. Glosser added that the state wants the tax money from legal dispensaries, so they will be harsh with black marketers.

Ron Keller asked about the application McVey and Glosser would be making to the state. He noted that if Lincoln gets a dispensary there will be only one in the county and only three counties out of the block will have such a permit from the state. He said he felt the competition for these state licenses would be high, so how did McVey and Glosser plan to make Lincoln the more suitable option?

Glosser said that the application process was not to be taken lightly. First, the entity being created by McVey and Glosser will have to pay the state $5,000 up front for the privilege of applying. McVey and Glosser will hire professional writer to do the application. They will also write an extensive security plan to go with the application.

Another strong need for the application will be to show community support of the project. It will be imperative that the application be able to note that the city, local businesses, and the community in general are supporting of the project. Communities that are not supportive will stand less of a chance of getting the license. Glosser concluded that when the state came out with the maximum of three dispensaries per block, she and McVey did take a step back. They knew that the limit would make the win much more difficult, but they looked at what they are bringing to the table and said that with Lincoln as their choice location, she feels that they have a “very strong foundation” for their application.

Keller then said he wanted to switch gears from state to federal levels. Thus far the federal government has not legalized recreational marijuana. While he said that it appears to be going that way, federal legislators could reverse their opinions and refuse to allow legal marijuana. What would happen then to an already permitted and established retailer? Would the city be “on the hook” for illegal sales?

McVey said that no one in the industry is concerned about the federal consequences. He doesn’t feel the federal government will step into the situation at all. At the same time he noted that 10 years ago, the federal law enforcement did take some actions against legal sales, but they went after sellers, never municipalities.

Glosser drew on comments made earlier by Carder and said, “Look at Cresco, they are expanding, they are not worried.”

Steve Parrott asked about the cost of medical marijuana. McVey said he didn’t know the cost, but Carder did, and said it was about $300 to $400 an ounce depending on the product. Parrott asked if the recreational costs would be comparable. McVey said that the base cost would be comparative, but the increase between medical and recreational comes from the taxes.

McVey also answered the questions posed by Carder earlier in the evening. He said that the recreational retailers would not be authorized to fill prescription, the customer would not get the tax exemptions that they get at a medical dispensary. However, he said the retail business will discount the gross cost of the drug to make up for the increased tax, and would bring the cost down to close to the same as one would pay at a medical dispensary. Carder for example, would still need to show proof of his medical registration with the state in order to take advantage of the discounts.

Parrott said that he would like to know what the drawbacks to legalization have been in Colorado. He said that research he has done show there is a dramatic increase in homelessness in Colorado since the legalization in 2012.

McVey said that he felt that the homeless rate in Colorado was increasing more due to housing costs than marijuana. Parrott would later note that perhaps housing costs were going up because everyone was moving to Colorado to buy marijuana.

Parrott also asked what products are being consumed. Do most people smoke the drug? McVey said that 40 percent of all consumption is in the flower. Vaping makes up 30 percent of sales, edibles 15 percent and the last 15 percent is a mix of drinks, lotions, oils and other products.

McVey also addressed questions concerning over- consumption. He said that while there is nothing to stop a person from consuming too much, there is also nothing to stop them from taking a whole bottle of Tylenol. The marijuana does come with consumer warnings about over-consumption and is also sold in child-proof packaging.

Glosser commented on the drawbacks saying that one big-one is the policing of the workplace. She said currently there is no immediate test to determine the levels of marijuana in the bloodstream. She said that zero tolerance at the workplace is very hard to enforce because of the lack of testing. At the same time, testing methods are being developed so that issue should be resolved in the future.

Parrott asked Police Chief Paul Adams to comment from a law enforcement perspective.

Adams said that there will be increases in DUI’s no matter what. He said people will drive under the influence. He added that regardless of the rule of consumption in the home, there will be public consumption. He anticipates an increase in robberies, as well as an increase in black market sales. He added though that some of these things will increase regardless of where the consumer purchases his or her products.

He added that while the state is currently saying that the local law enforcement will get a portion of the tax money, he hasn’t seen any guarantee that will be the case.

Adams said his greater concern is for the mental health issues. He said that those who are suffering from mental health issues, the usage of marijuana may be what will “trip the trigger.”

One hour and 20 minutes into the discussion, Alderman Keller suggested that the city had more research to do, should end the conversation for the night and bring it back at the next Committee of the Whole.

Bateman said he wanted there to be a vote on next week’s agenda for what he called ‘step one’ to say “yes we will permit it.” He said that he’s already heard from one other mayor in the West Central who is interested. He said that the slots are going to fill fast, and he wants Lincoln to be at the top of the list.

Parrott said that of late, the council has rushed decisions and been pushed to give answers without enough consideration. He said he would not support a vote next week because the city should not go into this lightly. He added that hearing from mental health professionals would be beneficial, Keller had stated the same when Adams had spoke.

Parrott went on to say that regardless of what had been reported, he knows there will be marijuana related deaths. He recalled that the city had refused to ask Amtrak to silence its horns in city limits for fear of one related death. He feels if the city is concerned about something like that, it should definitely be concerned about marijuana.

Comments continued to come from the aldermen for the next 20 minutes as Bateman pushed for a vote next week and Parrott pushed back against it. Parrott also had the support of other aldermen including Keller, who initially proposed further discussion at the next COW.

Goodman asked about availability in other areas and it was noted that there will be buying opportunities in Springfield and Bloomington/Normal. Goodman said there was no question that if it is not in Lincoln, buyers will drive 30 miles to get their products. Bateman noted that when they do, they will also do business at other establishments in those areas, costing the city of Lincoln tax revenue.

Tracy Welch said that he saw three questions that needed to be answered. First, “Is it coming based on us?”

Welch said no, it isn’t. Legalized marijuana is in the state and it is going to happen regardless of what the city does.

Welch's second question, “Can we better regulate how the community uses.”

Welch said he had no answer for that one.

And finally Welch asked, “Are there financial benefits?” He said that the legal sales are coming throughout the state, the city can’t stop it. And so, wouldn’t it be wise to capitalize on it? He noted that the city is always looking for new revenue streams and this is definitely one that could be handed to them.

In final comment, Keller said he wanted the topic to return at the next Committee of the Whole. He also wants mental health professionals to speak to the council about their concerns.

Bateman gave in, and stopped calling for a vote.

The next Committee of the Whole meeting will be held September 10th. The discussion is expected to continue at that time.

[Nila Smith]