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When it comes to cannabis, convenience isn’t always king. In neighborhood stores across Illinois, unregulated hemp-derived products are easily accessible, even to minors. These cheap products often make wild, unsubstantiated claims about the products’ purported affects. The truth is far murkier. These unregulated THC-adjacent products are at best inconsistent, and at worst, unsafe. The fact that neighborhood stores selling hemp-derived THC in Illinois have fewer regulated roadblocks than certified cannabis dispensaries has many experts concerned, especially considering the availability of medical and recreational high-quality cannabis.
“If you're going to purchase a cannabis product, it should be done from a reputable store where you have an industry standing behind it," says Dr. Corey Burchman, MD.
Concerns about unregulated hemp products stem from their safety and unreliability. Dr. Burchman notes that while THC is not a product like an opioid, where an increased dose will result in significant physiologic changes and death, it can certainly incapacitate an individual, “particularly a child or an adult, if used irresponsibly or with a higher dosage than intended.”
The solve for this issue is straightforward: education and awareness. When considering a cannabis product, consumers need to look for tested products. Cannabis consumers should also educate themselves on how to use the product because “different strains vary in terms of their terpene profiles and can have vastly different effects."
The good news is high-quality, regulated cannabis is readily available in Illinois, and it’s changing people’s lives for the better. Just ask Diana Gordon, Donald Spurlock, and Lindy Drue. For these cannabis industry professionals, cannabis isn't just a job – it's a calling. As managers at Thrive dispensaries across Illinois, they've witnessed firsthand how tested, reliable cannabis products can transform lives, including their own.
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This commitment by Thrive is exactly the direction experts like Dr. Burchman believe the cannabis should be heading, away from sketchy gas station hemp and toward high-quality products provided by knowledgeable professionals. "I think budtenders, which are basically retail people with a huge amount of knowledge, are very important in terms of informing newbies and people who are relatively naive to the products."
For these three managers, that passion – combined with Thrive's commitment to product quality, consistency, and customer education – makes their dispensaries worth the drive from anywhere in Illinois. As Spurlock puts it, "You will never find yourself in a more pleasant place in Illinois than you will at Thrive."
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Diana Gordon, who manages Thrive's Mount Vernon location, spent 16 years working for Taco Bell before making the switch to cannabis. "I like tacos, but I wasn't passionate about tacos," she explains. "Cannabis is something I'm passionate about." Her conviction stems from seeing family members successfully transition from prescription opioids to medical cannabis for pain management, dramatically improving their quality of life.
“Cannabis has the propensity to spare a patient from using opioids for pain¹,” confirms Dr. Burchman. “The analgesic nature of cannabis is opioid sparing.”
For Thrive Harrisburg manager Lindy Drue, cannabis literally changed her life. "I was 300 pounds, could barely get around, felt awful," she recalls. After becoming a medical cannabis patient in 2016, she found ways to make her life healthier. This personal transformation inspired her to join Thrive, where she now helps others discover the benefits of regulated cannabis products.
Perhaps the most powerful testimony comes from Donald Spurlock, who manages Thrive's Anna location. A military veteran who survived a 400-pound bomb blast in Iraq in 2005, Spurlock struggled with PTSD, alcohol abuse, and anger issues after returning home. "I was finding myself non-stop just wanting to be the big, bad, tough guy," he remembers. Cannabis helped change his perspective and eventually led him to seek therapy. "The cannabis and therapy for any combat veteran or any veteran or any individual that's dealing with PTSD, it is life-changing, monumental life-changing," he says.
Dr. Burchman has seen similar results in other veterans. In a recent op-ed, Dr. Burchman writes, “Cannabis therapy is one measure of therapy that is successful in helping pull people from the abyss of depression, PTSD, anxiety, substance abuse, and the living nightmare of sleeplessness. As a rational forward-thinking physician, I am not saying it is the only means of therapy, but millions of sufferers are not wrong.”
Convenience Isn’t Always King. Why Avoiding Unregulated Hemp Products is the Safe Bet
Why Thrive Is Worth the Drive
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Find your neighborhood Thrive at thriveil.com.
How Three Illinois Cannabis Professionals Are Changing Lives at Thrive
All three managers emphasize the critical importance of purchasing cannabis products from regulated dispensaries like Thrive rather than unregulated sources. "You know exactly what you're getting," Gordon explains. "These items are tested time and time again. If you have a particular strain or item that is really working for you, that consistency should definitely be there."
Drue points to Thrive's extensive menu and relationships with top cultivators as key differentiators. "We have all of the highest-grade products," she says, noting that everything sold at Thrive comes with detailed lab results and cultivator information – a stark contrast to unregulated products sold at gas stations or convenience stores.
What truly sets Thrive apart, according to these managers, is the personalized attention and expertise customers receive. "When you enter into a Thrive, there is a sense of happiness in the atmosphere," Spurlock says. His small store alone has staff with nearly 50 years of combined cannabis knowledge. "You're not just a customer. You're a guest in our home."
This commitment to education and customer care has earned Thrive a devoted following. Drue shares the story of one customer who drives 12 hours with her cat to visit the Harrisburg location "because she will never find another dispensary like this one." The staff remembers customers' names, their preferences, and even asks about their families.
"We're not going to rush you through," Gordon adds. "We're actually looking to spread our passion and how we have seen it help those that we love."
¹ Nielsen, S., Picco, L., Murnion, B. et al. Opioid-sparing effect of cannabinoids for analgesia: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical and clinical studies. Neuropsychopharmacol. 47, 1315–1330 (2022)