Illinois residents 21 and older can buy cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes explained Dr. Brian Corr, consultant with Sycamore Horticultural Consulting, Inc., and president of the DeKalb Rotary during Wednesday’s club meeting. But Corr said certain federal laws conflict with the State statutes and various scientific studies are inconclusive as to long-term affects and beneficial impact on patients/users. Corr said one thing is for certain, taxation on sales in Illinois is among the highest in the country reaching 50% of the purchase price.
Corr went through some of the history of Cannabis growing and use. He noted that as far back as 2200 BC in China there are records of cannabis being used for medicine. Thomas Jefferson refers to growing it as part of crop entries in his farm journal. At the time of World War I it was widely grown for hemp. It was only in the early 1930’s that a campaign against growing it gained momentum, particularly through the nationwide Hearst newspaper group (the reason is unclear but may have been to prevent paper production that would compete with their existing supply chain). Cannabis became illegal to grow, sell or possess under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970. However, by the mid-1990’s opinions on use of cannabis shifted opening the way for medicinal use as regulated at a state level and eventually, some states allowing recreational use, such as Illinois. The Farm Bill of 2018 opened the way for growing cannabis for hemp.
Corr noted that growing cannabis is not an easy business. He is frequently asked to consult the viability of projects. In Illinois, for example, he pointed out that the amount of light needed for proper growth exceeds normal light levels, requiring extensive indoor lighting. Corr said production requires a highly-controlled environmentally-clean space and there are a number of regulations to follow. It is clearly an evolving industry and not a “get rich quick” endeavor.
Our speaker this week will be Jay Anderson, President of Kishwaukee & Valley West Hospitals, discussing Northwestern Medicine initiatives.
Following is our schedule of upcoming speakers/presentations:
Wednesday, February 17 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital & Northwestern Medicine Valley West Hospital (Jay Anderson)
Wednesday, February 24 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): DeKalb Farm Bureau (Greg Millburg)
Wednesday, March 3 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): Elder Care
Wednesday, March 10 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): DeKalb Forest Preserve District
Wednesday, March 17 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): CASA DeKalb County (Jessica Sandlund)
Wednesday, March 24 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): Curt Lang
Wednesday, March 31 (Hybrid meeting: In-person at Blumen Gardens, pending status of Covid mitigation efforts, and online via Zoom): DeKalb County Community Gardens
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Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) are proud to announce an historic public health achievement as the World Health Organization’s African region is now certified wild poliovirus-free.
The milestone comes four years after Nigeria – the last polio-endemic country in Africa – recorded its final case of wild poliovirus following decades of effort from GPEI partners, local and national leaders, and health workers throughout the African region. Over the course of the effort, 9 billion doses of oral polio vaccine have been administered, hundreds of millions of children have been immunized, and 1.8 million cases of wild poliovirus have been averted throughout the region.
August 25, 1918 – American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
August 27, 1908 – 36th U. S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson is born near Stonewall, Texas.
August 27, 1910 – Mother Teresa is born in Skopje, Yugoslavia. Her religious order of nuns in Calcutta, India, the Missionaries of Charity, becomes famous worldwide for helping the poor and sick.
August 29, 1632 – British philosopher John Locke is born in Wrington, England. His pioneering doctrine that people naturally possess certain rights; chief being life, liberty, and property; greatly influence American colonists.
August 28, 1963 – The Civil Rights “March on Washington” occurs with over 250,000 attendees. It is at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King delivers his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
August 23, 1927 – Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are executed in Massachusetts for the killing of two people during a factory payroll robbery. Prior to the executions, there are protests claiming unfair treatment of the pair because they had radical political leanings and were Italian.
August 24 and 25, 1814 – During the War of 1812, Washington, D.C. is invaded by British forces who burn the Capitol, the White House, and other public buildings.
August 24, 79 AD – Vesuvius, an active volcano in southern Italy, erupts and destroys the city of Pompeii and also the cities of Stabiae, Oplontis, and Herculaneum.
