By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – It’s been one year since medical marijuana has been available in Illinois and opinions on its success are varied.
Last week marked the end of the first year of the Illinois Medical Cannabis Pilot Program. The state’s website says that there are nearly 12,000 qualified patients that can buy from 46 licensed dispensaries. They’ve bought more than $28 million in products.
With dispensaries in Springfield and Collinsville, HCI Alternatives Spokesman Chris McCloud says they’ve had slow, but steady growth in the past year. “We get new patients every week. Growth has not been an issue,” he said. “By doing it slowly and doing it right, I think that it provided stability and helped protect the program in the long run.”
New Frontier Vice President of Industry Analytics John Kagia says the state hasn’t done the burgeoning industry any favors. “Illinois has been on the end of the spectrum with New York that has a very tightly restricted and narrow list of qualifying conditions,” he said. “The addition of chronic pain, for instance, could increase the patient population by between fifty percent to nearly doubling the number of patients eligible.”
An analysis by Arcview Market Research expects Illinois to do $23 million in sales in 2017. Twenty-three states currently have some sort of medical cannabis program.
