McHenry County’s first recreational cannabis dispensary now opened for business
Michelle Moreno Cannabis accessories that can be purchased at RISE.
MCHENRY COUNTY – Locals may have taken notice of a new business occupying the building formally the location of the Chen’s Chinese Cuisine restaurant located at 270 N. Randall Road in Lake in the Hills.
The new business simply named RISE, with its covered windows and security personnel standing near the entryway, would give no indication from outer appearances alone, into what it is this business specializes in. While RISE may be new to the McHenry County area, it’s no stranger to the adult use cannabis industry, as it operates medical and recreational dispensaries in seven different states. Additionally, it operates eight other dispensaries in Illinois.
The Lake in the Hills location celebrated its grand opening on March 31, having become the first recreational adult use cannabis dispensary in McHenry County. However, Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act only allows individuals 21 years of age or older to purchase, possess, and use cannabis hence why security personnel were on staff at RISE.
Upon providing proof of age, individuals are allowed to enter the main building where RISE employees remain on standby to assist anyone with questions regarding their products. My Huntley News spoke with RISE employee Mitch M., who did not wish to provide his last name due to privacy concerns.
He explained that for anyone who has never dabbled in cannabis, edibles would be the route he would recommend. All orders for any cannabis products must be made on RISE’s website, though there are self-ordering stations with access to their website in the building.
“I’m going to say this about almost everything we carry here, is phenomenal tasting. You don’t have that cannabis taste that tastes like you’re eating the [cannabis nugget] straight off the plate. Mindy’s is a great entryway. She actually is based in Chicago. She owns a café and does a lot of pastries so these [gummies] are great…The edibles do take longer to affect you. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours,” Mitch said.
RISE offers a variety of cannabis products for purchase, though individuals must be aware that the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act allows municipalities to regulate certain activities such as prohibiting on-premise consumption.
“There are a few rules and restrictions. One is, the product after you buy it, you can’t open it until you get home. Its state regulated. It’s still federally illegal. Once you bring it to your house, we don’t care how you choose to do it or how you choose to consume it as long as you don’t give it to minors, anybody under the age of 21…No smoking allowed in public or in your car. We just want to keep our industry protected until it is federally legal and when things are a little bit more relaxed with our laws…We’re taking our regulations a lot more seriously because it is a new industry that’s opening up to the public,” Mitch said.
Another point to include is that customers may only pay for cannabis products at RISE, with cash.
“Right now, we can only take cash. Most things are federally regulated. So, credit card transactions are kind of [not allowed] right now. I believe we’re using credit unions to handle our cash because they’re not federally regulated. It’s a way for us to put our income into the bank and distribute it out to our employees. We have two ATM’s here,” Mitch explained.
After individuals place their product orders online, they can simply pay and pick up their purchase on-premise any time within RISE’s business hours. Mitch made it a point to include that any orders not picked up by closing time the day the order was made, will be placed back in inventory.
The Lake in the Hills location only specializes in recreational adult use cannabis, but individuals authorized for medical cannabis use in accordance with the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, can visit other RISE locations such as the one in Mundelein, that provides medical cannabis products.
As with any new industry, members of the public have shared their concerns with having such a business in their area, in which Mitch stated that he can understand the public’s concerns.
“What I like about RISE is that we want to promote wellbeing through our products. We originally started off as a medical institution, providing our products to [medical] patients and clients. It is fun that we’re recreational now, but we still believe in the properties of cannabis, like treating patients through medication that’s not big pharma and not completely detrimental to their health,” he said.
As for if Huntley will ever be a location for a cannabis dispensary, it would have to be an adult use medical cannabis business. The Huntley Board of Trustees voted unanimously to dismiss a motion allowing any recreational adult use cannabis dispensaries to open in Huntley at the Jan. 23, 2020 Village Board meeting.
However, under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, medical marijuana dispensaries may apply for adult-use retail licenses, which would permit them to sell recreational cannabis from their medical dispensary locations. The Village of Huntley would allow this, in accordance to Huntley’s Zoning Code amendments approved at the same Board meeting.
Though because Illinois governs the number of medical cannabis dispensaries and cultivation centers allowed to operate per “Dispensing Organization Districts,” McHenry County is only allowed one medical cannabis license registration. As of current, there is no registered medical cannabis dispensary in McHenry County. Kane County already has its two allotted registrations in use.
