Politics & Government

LITH Planning Commission to Discuss Medical Marijuana Zoning Regulations

The village of Lake in the Hills Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night will discuss zoning amendments relating to the new medical marijuana law.






The LITH Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night will discuss how the village would amend its zoning code to regulate medicinal marijuana dispensaries and cultivation sites.

Dan Olson, community development director for Lake in the Hills, said village leaders months ago passed a resolution saying they would review the village's zoning code should Illinois pass the medical marijuana bill.


Gov. Pat Quinn signed the bill into law on Aug. 1.

The state's medical marijuana law, described by some people as the toughest in the country, takes effect in January 2014.

The law will allow Illinois to have up to 22 marijuana cultivation centers (one per State Police district), where the product can be grown, and 60 state-run dispensaries where it can be sold, Olson said.

The state law carries its own regulations, such as restricting the distance between cultivation and dispensary sites from schools, daycares and residential areas. 

LITH leaders will investigate what, if any, further zoning changes it would make relating to the law. Only individuals with serious diseases would be permitted to purchase the marijuana, and they would need authorization to do so. 

Municipalities would not be permitted to prohibit either the cultivation or dispensary locations, according to the law.

Should the Lake in the Hills Planning and Zoning Commission decide to amend its zoning ordinances to provide for such business uses, there would be public hearing held on the matter first, Olson said. 



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