LOGAN SQUARE — Logan Square's Modern Cannabis served its first patient Monday — and is already attempting to give another Chicago dispensary a run for its money.
The medical marijuana dispensary, 2369 N. Milwaukee Ave., only served one patient in the first hour of business Monday, but hoped offering a free gram of marijuana to the first 100 patients would attract some new customers.
"I did not know if we would get two people or 200 today," said Danny Marks, co-owner of Modern Cannabis.
Marks said he preferred the lesser side of the range, as the new business was learning to operate in what are mostly uncharted waters.
The city's only other dispensary, Dispensary 33, debuted in Uptown in December.
Due to strict limits who can obtain a medical marijuana card, there are very few patients who are currently eligible, meaning a small customer base.
"It's tough to get a slice of 4,000 people and make a business out of it," Marks said.
As of Feb. 3 the Illinois Department of Public Health had approved approximately 4,400 patients, including 32 for people under the age of 18. Approximately 5,700 people had applied.
Modern Cannabis opened with a menu of 47 different strains of marijuana with a mix of indica, sativa and hybrid strains with names such as "Cheese and Chong," "Maui Waui," "Sour Diesel" and "Island Sweet Skunk."
Patients can purchase either an 1/8 of an ounce or a gram of most strains, a pre-rolled joint of a select few or as an extract for a vaporizer pen. The shop also carried a dark chocolate infused with cannabis.
Qualifying patients must designate a single dispensary with the Illinois Department of Public Health in order to buy marijuana.
That means patients who are already buying marijuana at another dispensary must apply to switch their designated dispensary if they want to purchase at Modern Cannabis.
The process to switch involves filling out a short form and takes less than 24 hours and can be done on the state's website at illinois.gov.
The process of becoming a new patient typically takes between four and six weeks and involves applying, getting fingerprinted, receiving written certification from a physician and submitting a $100 fee.
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