Medical Marijuana Store Opens In Andersonville, But Without Any Pot

By Kate Shepherd in News on Nov 16, 2015 9:33PM

Facebook.com/dispensary33

Chicago's first medical marijuana dispensary opened Monday in Andersonville, but there's no pot for sale yet.

It's located in a former pizzeria, but the store's employees are still waiting on an official license from the state before they can start selling marijuana to state-approved patients, according to ABC7.

Dispensary 33, located at 5001 N. Clark St., is expecting to receive the licensing by Thursday and to begin selling to patients by the first week of December, owner Zachary Zises told the Sun-Times.

The independently-owned shop wants to be more customer-friendly than other dispensaries, according to Zises. He wants his customers to feel like they've walked into the Apple Store or Nordstrom instead of the pharmacy or a fortress with bulletproof glass. Staff, who are described as "cannabis geeks," are always available to discuss the customers' medical needs with them.

Chicagoans are excited about Dispensary 33: more than 900 people attended two open houses at the shop last weekend and over half were prospective patients, the store's manager of day to day operations Paul Lee told the Sun-Times.

Another dispensary in Logan Square, Modern Cannabis, is slated to open soon as well. The store's co-owner Danny Marks hopes to be selling marijuana to patients by the first week of January.

The state's first eight medical marijuana dispensaries opened for business last Monday.