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And here we go. 2 hours into this city council meeting we're on the agenda item where council members look at whether they want to allow retail sale of recreational cannabis.
First we have representatives from the two companies, Green Thumb Industries and Grassroots Cannabis, requesting to sell recreational pot in Naperville. GTI currently operates the medical marijuana dispensary in Naperville.
Representative from GTI says the company has transitioned medical sale stores to retail sale previously. "We find the most successful approach is a slow, methodical roll-out."
First public commenter is from Naperville and a pharmacist who says her number one priority is safety. "We are trained to make our decisions based on strong clinical evidence." Some concerns -- no national standards or controls on harvesting, compounding of the components.
Matt Quinn with Rosecrance speaking on marijuana use and teens. Says teens perceive marijuana use as less risky than they did historically. Urges council to "not be naive" about the law requiring pot consumers to be 21 or older. Teens push boundaries, he said.
Dr. Aaron Weiner with Linden Oaks Behavioral Health: "This is not Woodstock pot."
Sidenote: he is a very fast speaker. Made efficient use of his 3 minutes.
Suburbs that do opt into this will get marijuana tourism and traffic, Weiner said.
So far the main message from speakers has been: access to more marijuana in the city leads to greater harm to youth and less safe traffic conditions.
"There is nothing family friendly about recreational marijuana. Family friendly is Naperville’s brand," said resident Jennifer Taylor.
Resident Jim Hasselhorst asks city how if he was first to sign up for public comment how several coordinated "anti-marijuana" speakers got to the queue in front of him.
No one seemed to know, though there was some suggestion of online registration, which is apparently down.
No one seemed to know, though there was some suggestion of online registration, which is apparently down.
It would be hypocritical to allow the legalized use of alcohol or nicotine while banning marijuana, Hasselhorst said.
Councilman Benny White: "One thing I’m struggling with is control when it’s going to be legalized across the state. If we allow it to be sold here, we can control a whole lot of stuff."
Councilman Kevin Coyne: If we were to reject this, I think other communities would as well, and I think that would lead to policy changes in our capitol (capital?)
Margot Vesely, on medical marijuana: Cannabis is not a cure for all, but it allows people to have the option for a better quality of life.
Dick Furstenau suggests Naperville opt out of retail sale of marijuana, then each council member go to surrounding towns and urge them to do the same.
