Illinois Dispensaries Could Start Selling Marijuana By 2015

The year-long debates on how to properly set guidelines for the newly formed medical marijuana program in Illinois have finally been set.  Legislation was signed yesterday that will permit dispensaries and cultivation centers to begin filing for applications that will allow them to grow and sell marijuana to patients that fit the medical criteria.

There will be 21 cultivation centers and 60 medical marijuana dispensaries scattered throughout Illinois.  Beginning in September, patients who have a qualifying medical condition will be able to see doctors that can in turn write them a prescription for medical marijuana.

If everything goes according to plan and licenses are dispensed in a timely fashion then Illinois patients could be looking at purchasing marijuana legally as soon as January 2015.  That is if cultivation centers are able to begin the growing process at the start of September.

Economists estimate that there will be roughly 10,000 patients who qualify for medical marijuana in Illinois which would translate to roughly $25 million in revenue annually.