Jefferson Park Medical Marijuana View Full Caption

JEFFERSON PARK — Two medical marijuana dispensaries want to set up shop in Jefferson Park nearly next door to each other on Milwaukee Avenue.

Curative Health, which is operated by Columbia Care, has asked city officials for a special use permit to open a dispensary at 4758 N. Milwaukee Ave. The company operates medical marijuana facilities in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

Two doors south, EuFlora Health Center, which is based Downtown, wants to open a dispensary at 4760½ N. Milwaukee Ave.

The proposed dispensaries, which must be approved by city and state officials, would be on the same block as Ald. John Arena's 45th Ward office. The dispensaries would be separated by one storefront — the I Am Trendii boutique, which sells women's clothing and accessories.

Heather Cherone cuts through the red tape to explain how the process to open a dispensary works:

Attorney Katriina McGuire, who represents Curative Health, did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed dispensary.

Attorney Bernard Citron, who represents EuFlora Health Center, declined to answer questions about the permit application.

State officials have said they plan to issue no more than two licenses for dispensaries in Jefferson Township, which includes most of the Far Northwest Side. City officials must also approve a special use permit for the dispensary's location.

A third application for a special permit in Jefferson Township and the 45th Ward has been made by California-based IL Grown Medicine at 4739 W. Montrose Ave. in Old Irving Park.

Arena, who said he supports the use of marijuana for medical purposes as outlined by the state law, said the tangle of competing state and city regulations "was a little bit frustrating."

"We still don't know a lot about how this is going to work," Arena said. "We're trying to untie the knot."

Dispensaries must be 1,000 feet from schools and daycare centers and can't be in residences, according to city regulations. Thirteen of the 60 Illinois dispensaries can be in the city, according to state law.

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

Arena said his biggest concern about the proposed Jefferson Park dispensaries is security — not only for the patients, but also for nearby residences and businesses.

"This is a cash business," Arena said. "And marijuana has a street value."

Both EuFlora and Curative Health submitted "credible" security plans, said Owen Brugh, Arena's chief of staff.

Arena said he was not opposed to the dispensaries opening their doors so close to his office.

"We will have eyeballs on them all the time," Arena said. "We will ensure they run to the letter of the law."

Arena's office has tentatively scheduled a public meeting about the Curative Health dispensary at at 4758 N. Milwaukee Ave. for the first week in November, Brugh said.

"This isn't just opening a gelato shop," Arena said. "I want to have a conversation with the business community."

Quinn Mines, the owner of I Am Trendii, said she was shocked when the signs notifying the community went up in the empty storefronts' windows.

"I'm worried about what kind of people it will bring to the area," Mines said. "I'm concerned about security too. Is someone going to break into my store to get into one of the dispensaries?"

Gus Karamaniolas, who owns Fischman's Liquors at 4780 N. Milwaukee Ave., said the dispensary proposals were the talk of the bar.

"Everyone is opposed to it," said Karamaniolas, who has been working to revitalize the heart of the Jefferson Park Business District.

There are six empty storefronts on Milwaukee Avenue between Giddings and Lawrence avenues, where the dispensaries are proposed.

The dispensaries "could drive traffic to an area that desperately needs it," Karamaniolas said. "But is it the type of traffic we want?"

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