Plainfield Bans Local Marijuana Sales

PLAINFIELD, IL — Village Trustees voted Monday to ban recreational marijuana dispensaries from opening in Plainfield. The vote was not unanimous, but a majority of trustees said the social and potential law enforcement costs outweigh the potential benefits.

Recreational sales and possession of marijuana will become legal in Illinois in January. Municipalities in the state can't ban possession of pot, but they can opt to prohibit dispensaries from opening in their jurisdiction.

Plainfield in September held a workshop to discuss the new marijuana laws, when a majority of trustees signaled strong opposition to allowing dispensaries in town. On Monday, trustees made it official, voting to prohibit local marijuana sales.

Trustee Cally Larson, who at the workshop was one of those most strongly opposed to local dispensaries, said Monday she had spent the intervening time learning more about the new state law. She noted how well regulated the growing and selling of marijuana is, but that she "can't move past" potential law enforcement issues, including the lack of ways to conduct field sobriety tests for marijuana usage.

Trustee Brian Wojowski said he has no concerns about personal marijuana use in the home, but he said the social costs will outweigh any benefits marijuana sales could bring. That includes tax dollars, which he estimated at about $25,000-$40,000 a year. But that could be offset in increased law enforcement costs and other expenses associated with the drug's social impact.

"That's a lot to some," Wojowski said of the tax revenue. "I'd rather wait. There's plenty of time for Plainfield to jump on board."

The lone vote against the measure to ban dispensaries was Trustee Harry Benton. He said many of the concerns expressed — like potentially more impaired driving — will likely come to Plainfield regardless. Benton added that the local sales tax municipalities can add to local pot sales could be a boon to the village, and that there are questions about whether municipalities who opt out of the law might be at jeopardy of losing state funding from taxes on marijuana sales.

"It's going to be here," Benton said. "I don't want to lose out when we're going to be neighbors with villages" who will allow local sales.

Neighboring municipalities like Bolingbrook and Naperville have opted out of the law. Joliet, meanwhile, will have one of the first recreational dispensaries.

Romeoville has a medicinal marijuana dispensary, and Illinois' law allows those existing facilities to apply for a recreational license, though that has not yet happened there, Romeoville's mayor previously said. Oswego will hold a public hearing on the topic in October.