Police Chief Discusses Medical Marijuana

Buffalo Grove Police Chief Steven Casstevens spent about five minutes this week giving village officials what he called a “Readers Digest version” of how the state’s medical marijuana legislation could potentially affect the police department and village.

The law, which will go into effect in 2014, will allow Illinois to have up to 22 marijuana cultivation centers and 60 dispensaries. Patients suffering from 35 medical conditions may qualify to receive up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 14 days, he explained.

“Some of the local law enforcement issues that we’ll be dealing with touch more on cannabis possession, possession beyond what is allowable by law,” he said.

It’s uncertain at this time where the cultivation centers and dispensaries will be located, but restrictions will prevent them from opening within specified distances of homes, schools and childcare facilities. Cultivation centers would likely require significant space, said Casstevens, who used a 13,000-square-foot Colorado facility, which he described as medium-sized, as an example.

Municipalities will be able to enact their own “reasonable zoning ordinances,” Casstevens added, but “reasonable” has not yet been defined.

Casstevens said he’s working with the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police to craft a trailer bill that would clarify certain aspects of the law.