Medical Marijuana In Morton Grove? Village Explains Position

Morton Grove is mainly concerned about complying with the new state of Illinois law governing medical marijuana.

That's the message the village put forth when Niles-Morton Grove Patch asked it to elaborate on its recent news release, which had two statements that could possibly contradict each other. It was headlined "Clinic Application Under Review" but contained the statement, "...the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation “IDFPR” has determined that clinics that exist solely to offer marijuana certifications are illegal, and therefore will not be allowed in the Village."

Earlier: Morton Grove May Reject Medical Marijuana Clinic

Peter Falcone, assistant to the Morton Grove village administrator, clarified, "We would comply with any state laws but not allow any person or business to use this for illegal purposes. 

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"Any licensed doctor would have the ability to prescribe medical marijuana as long as they follow the regulations (such as for conditions on the state's list of debilitating illnesses). The doctor and patient must have an ongoing medical relationship."

The issue seems to hinge on whether Green Bliss Clinic exists to provide ongoing medical care to patients or simply to write recommendations for patients to receive medical marijuana, he suggested. 

"So by what we're seeing in this application, it would not be allowed," Falcone said. "But there's always the possibility they could say 'we're in compliance with state law' and come back and prove that."

Earlier: Doctors Open Medical Marijuana Evaluation Clinic

Falcone said the village is getting calls from residents who thought the clinic is a dispensary, which is a place people with prescriptions can go to pick up their medical marijuana.

Green Bliss Clinic's Joseph Dadivas, who has an MBA in healthcare management, and whose father and brother are the clinic's two M.D.s, had earlier said doctors would write medical marijuana recommendations for patients they determined were suffering from the medical conditions described in the state law. There would not be any marijuana on site, he said.

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