Unfair, One-Sided 8th Ward Meeting on Medical Marijuana Dispensary Leaves Many Attendees Baffled
By Juanita Bratcher
Editor & Publisher, CopyLine Magazine
UPDATE TO THIS ARTICLE, 9/16/15 – The Fight continues to keep the Medical Marijuana Dispensary out of the 8th Ward.
The fight by 8th Ward Residents to keep a Medical Marijuana Dispensary from coming to the 8th Ward is not over. At the August 21st hearing before the Zoning Board of Appeals, Harborside-IGM requested and received a continuance. The next hearing is scheduled for November 20, 2015, at 121 N. LaSalle St., at 2 p.m. EWAC is urging the community that it is urgent to attend this meeting in numbers as they did for the August 21st hearing, saying “we need your continued support…we must remain focused on our goal – keeping the medical marijuana dispensary out of the 8th Ward.”Â
Alderman Michelle Harris’ 8th Ward Community Forum to discuss a medical cannabis dispensary headed to the 8th Ward was far from being an “Open Community Discussionâ€. The one-sided discussion – with only input from pro-dispensary officials and advocates – allowed no formal input from people who are in opposition to the dispensary coming to the area. There is a great level of dissatisfaction and opposition to it being there, and residents have said as much in two community meetings sponsored by the Eighth Ward Accountability Coalition (EWAC), holding up signs stating: “We don’t want it!â€.
Some attendees at the forum openly suggested several times that Jerry Brown, an official of EWAC, add to the discussion and speak out for anti-dispensary advocates, all to no avail. They also questioned a “supposed to be informative meeting†which they considered was “unfair and one-sided.â€
Brown’s organization, EWAC, was instrumental in making the community aware of the proposed dispensary, which had already been approved by the Chicago City Council without a public hearing being held in the 8th Ward. A deferral was granted at the request of EWAC, after the organization complained about the alderman’s failure to hold public meetings or post adequate notice of the proposed dispensary.
Alderman Harris said she has always supported her community, that there’s never been a time that “I stood against my community.†She went on to say that there were people who said she was trying to hide, but was quick to say, “I’m not trying to hide.â€
The proposed Medical Marijuana Dispensary, a joint venture of California-based Harborside Health Center and Illinois Grown Medicine (IGM), will be located at 1111 E. 87th Street.
Harris staff passed out forms to attendees asking them to make a choice as to whether they were in favor of the Medical Marijuana Dispensary or not in favor of it. The alderman noted that the votes would be counted, including telephone calls and e-mails sent to the 8th Ward office pertaining to the dispensary, and a decision would be made according to overall combined input from 8th Ward residents.
A meeting on the proposed dispensary is scheduled before the Zoning Board of Appeals on Friday, August 21st at 121 N. LaSalle Street, Room 200 at 2 p.m. For more information on EWAC’s plans, you can contact Brown at 630-542-7320 or jrbcomm@yahoo.com.
COMING SOON: CopyLine Magazine will post an in depth videotape interview with Jerry Brown on its website to let the 8th Ward community know EWAC’s position on the proposed Medical Marijuana Dispensary.
Here are links to previous articles posted on www.copylinemagazine.com about the Medical Marijuana Dispensary:
http://copylinemagazine.clarencemcmillan.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=79742&action=edit
Photo Caption: Alderman Michelle Harris at podium discussing specifics of the proposed marijuana dispensary for the 8th Ward.
Photo by: Clarence McMillan
(c) CopyLine Magazine
Juanita Bratcher is an Award-Winning Journalist, the Publisher of www.copylinemagazine.com and the author of several books, songwriter and poet. She has been a Journalist for more than 39 years covering politics, education and a wide-range of other topics.
