Will you approve Cannabis Dispensaries?

Karl Coleman says rejecting cannabis dispensaries is a fiscally regressive decision that has lost us out on "millions" in funding and access to much of the "R3 funding" from the state.

He says people are going to use cannabis regardless, so why not get the money for it that is currently going to surrounding communities. Karl also said the Harristown dispensary breaking ground "kind of proves the point".

Dennis Cooper referenced an opportunity to build a casino that Decatur turned down years ago and said that was a terrible decision because we lost out on a lot of revenue, and the city gets "very little funds" from the "hundreds of gaming places", and relates that to cannabis dispensaries.

He's "not totally sold on" a recreational facility but says that council needs to "open up and really look at a medical facility" in Decatur. He says there's no doubt people will visit the Harristown Dispensary, but that Decatur will be "footing the bill" for any issues that come of it, without any of the cannabis tax dollars to assist.

He says we need to look at getting a license for a medical dispensary, and "possibly leaning towards" a full dispensary "if it works out." He says we're doing wrong by not at least pursuing it and talking about it.

Cooper has previously said he would vote yes for a cannabis dispensary "unless I'm shown a better option".

She said her decision was not based upon outside influence, in resopnse to a comment Coleman made that council didn't want to step on Howard Buffet's toes, who invested in Crossing Healthcare, a drug rehabilitation facility.

Councilman Chuck Kuhle is on the record stating that he "can't think of a more flat-out rejection of our former sherrif Howard Buffett" than to allow cannabis dispensaries without a "wait and see" approach, and Kuhle also cited funding from Buffett.

This was covered in some detail by The Intercept, with a particularly critical tone, especially regarding Howard Buffett's influence.

I am not aware of Gregory citing Buffet as a reason for her "no" vote.

Gregory says she worked at the Illinois Department of Revenue when the cannabis legislation was being put together, so she had a "front row seat" to see what kind of taxes were put on cannabis sales.

She says the drafters of the legislation "absolutely knew that the sale of marijuana would cause problems in communities." She says they addressed this by allocating funds for drug rehab and "the list is long."

She says "I am not willing to sell the soul of my community for a few bucks."

Note: The linked Youtube video of Chuck Kuhle's remark was clipped and uploaded by me.

He was chairman for 5 years of the Drug Free Coalition, which he says brought in experts and studied what happened in other states like Colorado and California. He said in Colorado, that "for every dollar of tax money the state brought in, they spent another $10 million dealing with the medical problems, especially with the young people."

I suspect he mis-spoke the figures, but I haven't had a chance to confirm.

He says he reads in the Decatur Tribune every week the number of people pulled over for DUI, which includes for drugs, and that it is "really bad". He suggests, if you want a cheap high, to stand on the boulevard and get high off the fumes from the traffic.

He says bad guys and bad gals move into cities with dispensaries because they can undercut the legal prices.

He says he'll never approve it.