PEKIN (25News Now) – Pekin city leaders are considering a new dispensary downtown.
A local lawyer specializing in cannabis industry law, Thomas Howard, proposed the business to the Pekin City Council on Monday. He said it would be the first and only locally-owned dispensary in the area.
The business would potentially revitalize 359 Court St., the vacant, 12,000-square-foot historic Pekin Performing Arts Center.
Howard said through the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the store would also be a licensed social equity dispensary in what the act defines as a “disproportionately impacted” area.
“The reason we passed cannabis legalization was to help rehabilitate areas that had been most blighted or harmed by the war on drugs,” Howard said. “By doing renovations in that area, we’re also helping satisfy the intentions and the policy goals.”
Howard said the sales taxes could also help generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for city pension liabilities.
“Based on our projections we should be able to do $100,000 to $150,000 of extra revenue to offset the pension liability for police and firefighters in the City of Pekin,” Howard said.
The Pekin Zoning Board has already recommended city council approve the dispensary. Chief Building Official Nic Maquet said he sees the business as an opportunity for continued economic development in downtown Pekin.
“This developer is looking at developing other parts of this building as well. I think he’s talking about a potential bakery,” Maquet said. “More people downtown will spur other businesses to come down, as well as increase foot traffic in our existing businesses.”
Howard said he chose Pekin to propose his business because of its welcoming community. He said he wants to reassure people that there are strict rules on advertising and cannabis product regulation, unlike smoke shops that could sell unregulated hemp products.
“If we were a hemp shop, we could put all sorts of neon lights that say THC, we could put leaf logos. We aren’t allowed to do any of that,” Howard said. “All these rules really makes the dispensaries very, very safe and very nondescript. You almost don’t know it’s a dispensary unless you know it’s a dispensary.”
Pekin City Council is expected to vote on the dispensary March 10.
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The dispensary could bring hundreds of thousands of dollars to city pension liabilities. Read More
