A citizens meeting was held on July 18, 2015 at St. Felicitas Catholic Church to discuss the proposed medical marijuana dispensary at 1111 E. 87th Street. There were well over one hundred people in attendance from the neighborhoods surrounding the proposed dispensary. Eighth Ward Alderman Michelle Harris, in whose ward the proposed dispensary would be located, and Lester Hollis, President and CEO of Harborside Illinois Grown Medicine (“IGM”), were both invited to participate in the discussion but both failed to respond to the invitation.
The community members present were well aware of the value of medical marijuana and the relief it offers certain patients; there was also no confusion as to the difference between medical marijuana and marijuana sold on the street. The community’s overwhelming sentiment is that there is no objection to medical marijuana but there is considerable objection to this proposed medical marijuana dispensary.
The opposition is three-fold: the lack of transparency in the process, evidenced by not informing the community of the proposed dispensary; the location of the proposed dispensary; and finally, the association with Harborside Health Center, whose executive director’s criminal background as well as their ongoing litigation with the U. S. Department of Justice is well documented. A petition was circulated in opposition to the proposed dispensary garnered more than one hundred signatures. Chanting over and over “we don’t want it, we don’t want it,” community members continue their efforts to stop the medical marijuana dispensary from ever opening in their neighborhood.
There will be a follow-up community meeting on Saturday, August 8th, at 1:00 PM. The meeting is free of charge and open to all without registration. The meeting will be held at St. Felicitas Church, located on the north east corner of 84th and Blackstone (1500 E block of 84th Street). Because this meeting will be held upstairs in the Church, we ask that you do not bring food or beverages in respect of the place of worship. If you cannot attend the meeting, please sign our online petition atchange.org by putting Deny Harborside in the search engine.
All community members are invited to attend the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on Friday, August 21st where the decision to grant Harborside IGM a special use permit will be made. The meeting will be held at 2:00pm at121 N. LaSalle Street, Room 200 (City Council Chambers).
