Robert Celt
New Member
One month after the opening of Springfield's first and only medical marijuana dispensary, the business' owners said Tuesday they are "cautiously optimistic about future growth of Illinois' cannabis industry."
Health Central Illinois Alternatives had 26 registered patients when its 6,000-square-foot facility opened Feb. 18 at 628 E. Adams St. The number of patients designating HCI as their dispensary of choice had grown to 75 as of Friday, according to a news release from the Effingham-based company.
"We like the direction we are headed," HCI chief executive Chris Stone said in the release. "It's not where we want or expected to be long term by any means, but clearly people are starting to explore the medical benefits that our products provide."
Fifty-three of the 75 patients have visited HCI multiple times in the past month, with the average customer spending about $165 per visit, HCI officials said.
For long-term financial viability, HCI hopes to have 400 to 600 registered with its Springfield site and a similar number at its dispensary in Collinsville, according to Jay Cook, HCI director of education and community outreach. The company, which spent $1.9 million on renovations of the Springfield site, hopes to reach those goals in about a year, Cook said.
The state's medical marijuana pilot project will expire Jan. 1, 2018, unless Gov. Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly extend the project or make it permanent.
Patients patronizing the Springfield dispensary generally have been satisfied and have reported pain relief and other benefits from smoking marijuana or using other forms of cannabis, including edibles, Cook said.
The Collinsville location, which has been open about a month longer than the Springfield site, has 225 registered patients.
State law requires patients to register with one dispensary at a time, though patients can easily switch their registration to a different dispensary.
In a month, Cook expects registered patients at the Springfield site to total 130 or 140.
He attributed the faster growth in Collinsville to the larger population in the Metro East area compared with Springfield, and to the willingness of more doctors there to sign certification forms needed for patients to be approved for medical marijuana.
Only about a half-dozen to a dozen Springfield-area doctors have been willing to sign those forms, Cook said. Many patients using the Springfield dispensary have driven to Orland Park or Marion to receive care and their state medical marijuana certification forms signed by Dr. Bodo Schneider.
In Springfield, Memorial Health System and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine have prohibited their doctors from taking part in certifying patients for medical cannabis.
Cook said he hopes local doctors warm to the concept, and health systems to have a change of heart, as more patients inquire about marijuana and an increasing number of local patients report benefits from cannabis and a reduction in use of prescription painkillers.
Lack of acceptance by doctors has been an issue statewide, medical marijuana advocates say.
Illinois so far has about 4,800 patients enrolled in the program. With more cooperation by doctors, advocates say, tens of thousands of Illinoisans would join the program based on qualifying conditions that include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and seizures.
Tisha Smith, 44, of Springfield visited HCI's Springfield dispensary and purchased marijuana on opening day but didn't return. She said she was able to find cheaper products and a more comfortable atmosphere at the Salveo Health & Wellness dispensary in Canton. That dispensary isn't associated with HCI.
Smith, who cleans homes for a living, said she spends $1,200 per month on medical marijuana to deal with headaches and insomnia associated with a traumatic brain injury.
The Canton dispensary gave Smith a $37.05 credit for driving from Springfield, she said. HCI doesn't offer such travel credits, and Cook said he didn't know of any other dispensaries besides Salveo that offer them.
Springfield resident Glen Davis, 67, said he is glad he no longer has to drive to Canton for cannabis. A retired housekeeper at SIU School of Medicine, Davis qualified for the medical marijuana program because of his Hepatitis B and has visited HCI three times since it opened.
The U.S. Navy veteran said smoking marijuana helps him deal with nausea and eases the anxiety, insomnia and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome he said is related to the year he spent in the late 1960s helping carry wounded and dying soldiers on stretchers during the Vietnam War.
Davis said he spends $700 a month on medical marijuana. That's more than what he used to pay on the black market, but the cannabis from HCI is stronger and cleaner, he said.
Divorced and the father of three grown children, Davis said he can afford medical marijuana "barely."
"It all depends on what kind of life you want to have," he said. "This has helped me tremendously."
Davis said the relief he gets from cannabis has enabled him to take less prescription medicine for anxiety. The anti-anxiety medicine, he said, produced undesirable side effects.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: IL: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reports Interest Growing
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: SJR
Photo Credit: Ted Schurter
Website: SJR
Health Central Illinois Alternatives had 26 registered patients when its 6,000-square-foot facility opened Feb. 18 at 628 E. Adams St. The number of patients designating HCI as their dispensary of choice had grown to 75 as of Friday, according to a news release from the Effingham-based company.
"We like the direction we are headed," HCI chief executive Chris Stone said in the release. "It's not where we want or expected to be long term by any means, but clearly people are starting to explore the medical benefits that our products provide."
Fifty-three of the 75 patients have visited HCI multiple times in the past month, with the average customer spending about $165 per visit, HCI officials said.
For long-term financial viability, HCI hopes to have 400 to 600 registered with its Springfield site and a similar number at its dispensary in Collinsville, according to Jay Cook, HCI director of education and community outreach. The company, which spent $1.9 million on renovations of the Springfield site, hopes to reach those goals in about a year, Cook said.
The state's medical marijuana pilot project will expire Jan. 1, 2018, unless Gov. Bruce Rauner and the General Assembly extend the project or make it permanent.
Patients patronizing the Springfield dispensary generally have been satisfied and have reported pain relief and other benefits from smoking marijuana or using other forms of cannabis, including edibles, Cook said.
The Collinsville location, which has been open about a month longer than the Springfield site, has 225 registered patients.
State law requires patients to register with one dispensary at a time, though patients can easily switch their registration to a different dispensary.
In a month, Cook expects registered patients at the Springfield site to total 130 or 140.
He attributed the faster growth in Collinsville to the larger population in the Metro East area compared with Springfield, and to the willingness of more doctors there to sign certification forms needed for patients to be approved for medical marijuana.
Only about a half-dozen to a dozen Springfield-area doctors have been willing to sign those forms, Cook said. Many patients using the Springfield dispensary have driven to Orland Park or Marion to receive care and their state medical marijuana certification forms signed by Dr. Bodo Schneider.
In Springfield, Memorial Health System and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine have prohibited their doctors from taking part in certifying patients for medical cannabis.
Cook said he hopes local doctors warm to the concept, and health systems to have a change of heart, as more patients inquire about marijuana and an increasing number of local patients report benefits from cannabis and a reduction in use of prescription painkillers.
Lack of acceptance by doctors has been an issue statewide, medical marijuana advocates say.
Illinois so far has about 4,800 patients enrolled in the program. With more cooperation by doctors, advocates say, tens of thousands of Illinoisans would join the program based on qualifying conditions that include cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and seizures.
Tisha Smith, 44, of Springfield visited HCI's Springfield dispensary and purchased marijuana on opening day but didn't return. She said she was able to find cheaper products and a more comfortable atmosphere at the Salveo Health & Wellness dispensary in Canton. That dispensary isn't associated with HCI.
Smith, who cleans homes for a living, said she spends $1,200 per month on medical marijuana to deal with headaches and insomnia associated with a traumatic brain injury.
The Canton dispensary gave Smith a $37.05 credit for driving from Springfield, she said. HCI doesn't offer such travel credits, and Cook said he didn't know of any other dispensaries besides Salveo that offer them.
Springfield resident Glen Davis, 67, said he is glad he no longer has to drive to Canton for cannabis. A retired housekeeper at SIU School of Medicine, Davis qualified for the medical marijuana program because of his Hepatitis B and has visited HCI three times since it opened.
The U.S. Navy veteran said smoking marijuana helps him deal with nausea and eases the anxiety, insomnia and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome he said is related to the year he spent in the late 1960s helping carry wounded and dying soldiers on stretchers during the Vietnam War.
Davis said he spends $700 a month on medical marijuana. That's more than what he used to pay on the black market, but the cannabis from HCI is stronger and cleaner, he said.
Divorced and the father of three grown children, Davis said he can afford medical marijuana "barely."
"It all depends on what kind of life you want to have," he said. "This has helped me tremendously."
Davis said the relief he gets from cannabis has enabled him to take less prescription medicine for anxiety. The anti-anxiety medicine, he said, produced undesirable side effects.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: IL: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Reports Interest Growing
Author: Dean Olsen
Contact: SJR
Photo Credit: Ted Schurter
Website: SJR
