Romeoville Verilife Dispensary Begins Compiling Recreational Menu (2024)

Community Corner

According to a company spokesperson, Verilife staff are putting together a recreational cannabis menu in preparation for Jan. 1.

Posted Mon, Dec 30, 2019 at 11:33 am CT|Updated Mon, Dec 30, 2019 at 11:59 am CT

"The main thing is if/when the cultivator received their adult-use license. Certain products must remain medical only," one Megan Ogden said.

Ogden is the Director of Marketing for PharmaCann, the Verilife dispensary's parent company. She said that even after Monday, recreational menus will remain very fluid. They won't begin to stabilize until the dispensary gets a good feel for demand levels and customer preferences. Because heavy crowds are expected within the first few days of legalization, Ogden said the exact menu will also depend on product availability and the frequency of new shipments from cultivators.

"We will be constantly updating menus based on inventory and new shipments," she said.

In recent weeks, there have been state-wide concerns about a potential shortage of legal cannabis products; concerns that with the sudden influx of new users, some recreational customers or even medical marijuana patients may be unable to purchase what they want or need. Ogden did not speak to the possibility of shortages on the recreational menu, but said that medical marijuana patients were being prioritized for all available inventory.

"We will maintain adequate supply and are foreseeing no caps on medical purchases," she said.

Due to the 3% tax that Romeoville's village board decided back in September to levy on all recreational sales, Ogden said that prices on recreational products could also fluctuate in the early weeks of legalization. The potential for shortages doesn't help the situation, and Ogden said that, overall, customers should expect items on the recreational menu to be more expensive than those on the medical menu.

Hard copies of the recreational menu - with hard prices - will be made available for customers on-site on Jan. 1 and will be updated on a daily basis, Ogden said. She added that a more definitive menu will hopefully become available after the initial turmoil of legalization. Until then, interested potential customers can visit Verilife's webpage on Illinois recreational marijuana to get an idea of what may be available in January.

"Once we have an understanding of demand, [the menu] should stabilize," Ogden said.

Despite the ambiguous state of the recreational menu, the potential for shortages and the 3% tax on all sales, Ogden said she hoped many current clients of the illegal cannabis market would make the to switch legal pot in the new year. In an email, she laid out why she believed those clients should do so:

"The reasons to switch from the illicit market to a licensed dispensary

• The #1 reason is all products sold at a licensed dispensary are 3rd party lab-tested. Consumers who purchase from the illicit market do not know what they are getting which could put their health at risk.
• Each product is labeled. We provide transparency on what consumers purchase (THC: CBD %, ingredients on edibles, etc.)
• Guidance and recommendations from representatives who are highly trained.
• A large selection across multiple categories"

Verilife Romeoville is located at 1335 Lakeside Drive, about a mile and a half southwest of the I55 / Route 53 (South Bolingbrook Drive) interchange. The dispensary will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on New Year's Day. For more information on the recreational menu as it develops, visit the Romeoville Verilife menu webpage or call 630-359-3213.