A medical marijuana dispensary was proposed for the strip mall at 1954-68 W. Peterson Ave. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Benjamin Woodard

WEST RIDGE — A medical marijuana dispensary has been proposed for a strip mall storefront on Peterson Avenue, with its owner arguing that it would be a health care benefit for the neighborhood.

A notice of the company's intentions was distributed to neighbors living near Peterson Plaza, at 1954-68 W. Peterson Ave. Good Earth Solutions, LLC, applied for a special-use permit to open the dispensary, according to records.

Attorney Patrick Lamb, who represents the company's owner Prabhjot Bhambra, said in a statement Monday that if a permit is issued, the company would "serve as a model for all state-licensed dispensaries and benefit the community no less than any other health care providers in the neighborhood."

Ald. Pat O'Connor (40th) said in an email to constituents that a community meeting about the plans would be held soon.

The special-use permit must be approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Subhash Patel, who has owned a Subway in the mall for 18 years, said he would support the dispensary as long as there was 24-hour security there.

"I'm worried it would bring crime to the area," he said. "But I'm happy for more businesses. I wish them success over there."

Edie Perez, 57, who was working inside an insurance company's office at the mall, said he was also worried about security.

"There's a lot of drug addicts" around here, he said. "It's going to [attract] a lot of people going there just to get high."

Perez, though, said he understood many people who are suffering from various conditions should be able to legally access the medicinal qualities of marijuana.

Lamb said the proposed dispensary would have no negative impact on the community because of how the law requires a prescription from a licensed physician who diagnoses at least one of 35 diseases or medical conditions.

"The notion of attracting 'drug addicts' or increased crime related to a medicinal marijuana dispensary is ridiculous," he said, adding that the dispensary, if approved, would have security personnel and a locked waiting room. Only patients who show the proper state-issued identification would be allowed inside, he said.

Illinois will grant 60 dispensary licenses, 13 of which can be located in the city. According to Chicago's rules, dispensaries must be 1,000 feet from schools and day-care centers.

Chicago's first proposed dispensaries went before the board of appeals Friday. Three of the four dispensaries were approved.

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