FULTON, Ill. — Over a year after the City of Fulton approved the recreational sale of cannabis in the city, the Dispensary is now offering the sale of adult use cannabis.
The Dispensary began selling recreational cannabis sales May 15, Director of Retail Operations Jeff Soenksen said. The East Dubuque location also opened May 15, he said.
So far, feedback has been positive on opening up sales for recreational use, Soenksen said.
“It’s been great,” Soenksen said. “I mean it’s been very positive feedback from the local community that we’ve heard so far. We haven’t had any issues. And I think it’s a nice balance between local Illinois residents and local Iowa residents.”
The Dispensary Fulton store offers edibles, concentrates, vaporizer cartridges and topical creams as well as other products, said Soenksen.
“Anything you could think of that’s offered in Illinois, we have it here,” Soenksen said.
The Dispensary hired about 15 full-time employees to prepare for the opening of recreational sale cannabis, Soenksen said. The location had already been approved to sell cannabis for medical use.
Fifteen new full time employees for our adult use side, and we had to hire some new medical staff as well as some of our original medical staff took on management roles with the new recreational stores,” Soenksen said.
Buyers must be 21-years-old or older and present a valid scannable ID, Soenksen said. The IDs are run through a live scan software.
The Dispensary Fulton is open to the public whether people want to check out the store’s offerings or ask questions about the products, Soenksen stated.
“Cannabis is great not only for people that want to try it that maybe haven’t before because the legality of it but for people who might be using it medicinally but their conditions don’t qualify for the Illinois medical program,” Soenksen said. “It’s a great way to to see if it’s going to work for you before taking the dive into spending all the money on the fees for a medical card as well.”
Transporting cannanbis across state lines is still illegal, said Soenksen, and it must be consumed in private residences.
The City of Fulton will receive a 3% cannabis tax of recreational cannabis sales, Interim City Administrator Dan Clark said last week. The city will have discussions in future budget years about how to best use the funds, Clark said.
“The City has decided to take this budget year and see how much revenue will be generated,” Clark said. “We get 3% and plan on tracking. And then have the conversations on how they can be best utilized.”
The Fulton City Council approved an ordinance in February of 2020 amending the text of the zoning ordinance to allow adult use cannabis dispensary organizations, infuser organizations, transporting organizations and craft growers requiring a special use under the zoning code. The ordinance allowed the developer to proceed with interior construction to prepare the business for sales and to move forward with plans to locate a craft growing operation in the Fulton Industrial Center.
The council decided in December of 2019 to allow cannabis businesses in the city of Fulton, voting down an ordinance to prohibit cannabis establishments. This action came about two months after the council had defeated a motion to amend zoning laws and allow the sale of recreational marijuana in certain areas of town.
The Dispensary Fulton is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
