Roselle-based pharmacist wants to sell medical marijuana in Mundelein

Mark Mandel owns a chain of pharmacies that is known for customizing prescriptions. His company is also one of four that are interested in opening a medical marijuana dispensary in Mundelein.Village trustees voted to make medical marijuana businesses a permitted use during their July 14 meeting. The decision means a dispensary can open without an extra public hearing so long as state and local requirements are met.Several trustees said medical marijuana dispensaries are no different than commercial pharmacies, and they didn’t want to overregulate legally allowed commerce.Mandel was at that meeting and afterward confirmed his interest in opening a dispensary in Mundelein. Trustees said six current buildings meet the requirements for a dispensary, and two are available right now.“We want to be in Mundelein. It’s one of our top priorities right now,” Mandel said. “There are other towns that are also welcoming, but we’ve got our sights set on here.”Mark Drugs was born in 1990 when Mandel bought a 400-square-foot family-owned pharmacy in Roselle. A short time later, the staff began to explore “compounding,” a process by which a drug is manipulated to help patients with unique situations.Pharmaceutical journals say compounding often removes inactive ingredients that a person might be allergic to so a drug’s main ingredient can still be used. The process can also make a drug easier to consume.Anti-aging medicine and hormone treatments are among the most requested compounding that Mark Drugs does.The pharmacy added extra labs and lecture rooms for educational classes a few years after Mandel bought the business. By 2008, a Deerfield location was opened in an office building.Medical marijuana will apparently be the latest addition to Mandel’s growing company. He said pharmacists will operate his dispensary, wherever it ends up, and that will set it apart.“We’ve spoken to a number of doctors who feel much more comfortable with their patients being taken care of by a pharmacist, someone who would be very knowledgeable about chemical reactions from multiple medications, metabolic situations relating to the liver and kidney, and what alternatives there might be,” Mandel said. “The list of approved conditions includes some rather serious ones.”Mundelein’s access to eastbound Townline Road creates a valuable connection to more urban areas via I94 and US 41, while Route 176 and Route 60/83 provide more suburban access, Mandel said.“Only three dispensaries will be allowed in Lake County, and given Mundelein’s central location we think it would be an outstanding place for people with medical needs in Central and Western Lake County, and Northern Cook County,” Mandel said.Mandel said being located in an industrial area is actually a positive.“If you end up in a commercial area that’s really busy, the lack of parking and long stoplights can discourage people who are already enduring a medical condition,” Mandel said.Lincolnwood-based lawyer Stuart Gimbel, who represents Mandel in his endeavor to open a dispensary, praised Mundelein trustees for not making the business a “special use” that requires a public hearing.“Special use is not intended to be a referendum on medical marijuana,” Gimbel said. “It’s meant for zoning purposes and deciding what location would be better over another. With all the rules set forth by the state, there’s not going to be any questions about one building versus another.“All a special hearing would do is create a forum for people to express their opinions on marijuana in general,” he continued. “That’s not the purpose. The state already decided.”Mundelein Village Administrator John Lobaito said three other companies have reached out with interest in opening a dispensary in Mundelein.Tags: Marijuana

Source

Roselle-based pharmacist wants to sell medical marijuana in Mundelein