Dispatcher Runs Afoul of Marijuana Law

on March 18, 2009

A four-year veteran Illinois dispatcher has been fired after officials learned that she purchased marijuana, despite explaining that she purchased it for her 60 year-old aunt, who suffers from breast cancer. Laura Llanes, 28, is angry at her co-workers at CenComm E911, to whom she admitted making the $20 marijuana purchase from a friend. “I feel so betrayed by them. I do not understand it,” she told a reporter. “I thought I could trust them. I was ratted out.” Llanes said her aunt had no appetite and was “whittling away to nothing.” She purchased the marijuana to increase her appetite and, Llanes says, the MJ worked. The comm center serves eight public safety agencies northwest of Chicago. Illinois is not one of the 13 states that have a medicinal marijuana law, allowing personal purchases with a doctor’s approval. Llanes says she was fired March 4th, but has not been contacted by police or charged with any crime.

According to one marijuana advocacy Web site, nearby Chicago ranks in the middle between “very illegal” and “virtually legal.” As for “Where to buy?” the site says, “Marijuana use is widely accepted throughout Chicago, IL, so that asking a friendly person on the street is quite safe. Marijuana is also the most readily available drug in Illinois.” The site suggests, “asking around the clubs and bars in the more quite and young neighborhoods such as LakeView.”

Marijuana prices vary from $20 to $60 per quarter ounce. Based on the purchase that Llanes allegedly made ($20) and Illinois’ marijuana laws, she could be subject to a misdemeanor charge (2.5g to 10g), and be subject to six months in jail and up to a $1,500 fine. However, first-convictions on marijuana possession in Illinois result only in 24 months probation, with the charge dismissed upon completion without any other arrests.

In order to qualify for a felony–over 30g (1.05 ounces), Llanes would have had to pay the going rate of about $240 an ounce. That amount on a first offense would bring a penalty of one to three years in prison and up to a $25,000 fine. Probation is not an option for this felony charge.

Ironically, the state legislature is now considering a bill that would provide some protections for medical marijuana users.