Lake Forest, Lake Bluff Split On Spliffs, Survey Suggests

(Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch)LAKE FOREST, IL — One out of four Lake Forest and Lake Bluff residents who participated to a recent Patch poll have visited a recreational marijuana dispensary, as of six months after the legalization of cannabis in Illinois.

Both towns have prohibited cannabis businesses within their municipal boundaries. When asked if they should change course and modify their zoning codes to allow for marijuana shops in town, self-identified Lake Forest and Lake Bluff respondents were divided in the recent unscientific survey.

While respondents from other north suburban communities favored allowing more pot shops by an average 30-point margin, the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff community was split 50-50.

Two-thirds of the roughly 200 Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Patch readers who responded said the state legislature made the right decision when it voted to legalize the possession and sale of recreational cannabis in June 2019. That compares to three out of four of the poll's nearly 1,700 respondents.

Local respondents broadly shared the view of their North Shore counterparts when it comes to how the implementation of cannabis legalization has proceeded when compared to expectations, although they were about 6 percent more likely to say it had gone worse than expectations.

Respondents who supported allowing recreational marijuana businesses in town where they would like the tax revenue to be allocated. The most common responses were schools, education, social services and property tax relief.

When respondents were asked what they would change about the state's cannabis rules, several suggested returning to the days of cannabis prohibition. Others suggested making cannabis more available.

"Allow delivery services, lower prices," one said.

"More outlets. It’s no worse than alcohol," said another.

"Illinois needs to move forward more quickly to allow more growers to operate in the state. The state has botched the license roll out for craft growers and is behind the ball by months," one respondent said. "Additionally communities should be allowing dispensaries. Marijuana is here to stay and just because it is not sold in your town does not mean people from your town are not going to the closest dispensary to buy some."