The state will be seeing some changes in the near future, as a legislative committee approved medical marijuana rules on Tuesday.

Illinois recently became the 20th state to legalize medicinal marijuana under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. The bill allows for the manufacture and distribution in the state under strict guidelines until 2017, when the pilot project concludes.

State agencies can post applications for grower and retailer permits now that the rules have been finalized. Patients can apply for permits that will cost $50 – $100 per year beginning in September. These figures were approved in the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules meeting on Tuesday.

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The bill states that applicants must be diagnosed with one of the 40 listed chronic medical conditions, such as HIV, cancer and glaucoma.

As a part of the bill, a 7 percent privilege tax per ounce of marijuana sold will be implemented on growers. The state or municipalities in which the product will be sold are able to charge any other taxes they would normally in addition to the specific sales tax, such as federal income tax on employees.

The guidelines of the bill state that all cultivation and distribution centers must be in a closed building and therefore will be responsible for paying property taxes.

Don Monty, acting mayor of Carbondale, said that he would welcome it to the area, but sees some logistical issues with it coming into fruition.

“There is very little land inside the city limits of Carbondale that would meet the qualifications,” Monty said of the rule that a facility cannot be located within 2500 feet of a residential property. “However, there is ample land outside the city that is close. Certainly, we would like to see a facility near the city.”

Carbondale is within the same districting area as Du Quoin, where the idea of having a cultivation center is being pursued.

Under the guidelines of the bill, the state will decide who is granted business permits for the limited number of dispensaries and cultivation sites. Permits for 60 dispensaries and 21 cultivation centers will be issued to cover the whole state.

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Rex Duncan, mayor of Du QuOIn, has said he thinks his town would make a good location for a cultivation site, given its ability to comply with the regulations and potential benefits to the town and its members.

“The proximity of a possible cultivation center or dispensary would lend itself to proper supervision through state police,” Duncan said in regards to the town being the home of Illinois State Police District 13. “For a cultivation center, you’re probably not looking at much more than 15 to 30 new jobs. In an urban area, that may not seem like much, but in an area like Du Quoin, that’s a reasonable number.”

Although the idea of medical marijuana has long been a controversial topic, Duncan said he is not concerned with the potential criticism of those not in favor of bringing it to their community.

“By large, I think its reasonable to say this is a welcoming environment here,” Duncan said. “I put it on a city council agenda a couple months ago. We had a very public discussion of philosophical issue of medical marijuana… Everyone was very supportive… In Illinois it’s legal, to me it would be no different is a major pharmaceutical company came here and said we would like to but an [oxycodone] factory here.”