A Morning at the CBD Shop Surviving with Marijuana the CTA's Chronic Problem
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CHICAGO’SFREEWEEKLYSINCE | APRIL CHICAGO’SFREEWEEKLYSINCE A morning at the CBD shop Maya Dukmasova 14 Surviving with Marijuana Sarah Watts and Lucius Wisniewski12 The CTA’s chronic problem John Greenfi eld 3 Weed If recreational cannabis is legalized, how will Illinois reengage the formerly incarcerated and make amends to communities of color? whacked By TW-M 15 THIS WEEK CHICAGOREADER | APRIL | VOLUME NUMBER IN THIS ISSUE T R - reproductiverightsintensifi eswith THEATER @ revisionstofederalpolicyplusa 24 Review CambodianRockBand lookatthemovieUnplanned blendstragedyandjoyintooneof 14 Dukmasova|NewsWakeand thebestplaysoftheyear P bakeamorningattheCBDshop 25 PlaysofnoteUnlikedancers’ TB IEC bodiesAChorusLineholdsup KHSK FEATURE MedusaUndonepositsshewasa 32 ShowsofnoteSunnO D EKS 15 WeedIfrecreationalcannabisis victimofrapecultureandUtility TatianaHazelMutantBeatDance C LSK D P JR legalizedhowwillIllinoisreengage showsthecostofquietdesperation andmoreshowsthisweek CEAL theformerlyincarceratedandmake 36 EarlyWarningsAmonAmarth M EP M amendstocommunitiesofcolor? BoomBoxtheSugarhillGangand A EJL SWDI CITYLIFE morejustannouncedconcerts BJ MS 03 TransportationYoucan’tspell 36 GossipWolfImpulsiveHearts SWMD L G “contacthigh”withouttheCTA usesummerypoprocktoraise G D D C S MEBW 05 PreviewAcuratedlistofcity moneyforResilienceFootwork M L C andneighborhoodfestivals crewtheErascreensshortfi lmsin S C -J HydeParkandmore FL CPF TA ECS CN B D C OPINION D C LCNLC 38 SavageLoveDanSavageoff ers C C MDLCS F IG AG adviceonwhenit’saccceptableto KTHJH JH ARTS&CULTURE digthroughancientemails IH DJM K 26 CommunityTheclassicChinese S K MM E MT FILM B MJRN MO 17 ReviewsInFacesJafar tilegamemahjongishavinga CLASSIFIEDS LPKSKR Panahiturnsthecamerainward renaissancedowntown 39 Jobs BSDS T theChicagoPalestineFilm 27 LitDavidRanneyhasno 39 Apartments&Spaces W -M A W ---------------------------------------------------------------- Festivalprovidesaframeworkfor nostalgiaforthedaysofmiddle 39 Marketplace D D J D FOOD&DRINK understandingtheMiddleEast classmanufacturingjobs D P E &P 06 RestaurantReviewThe 19 MoviesofnoteHerSmellis 28 Dance Nureyevtellstheepic COMICSSERIALS KK Reader’sguidetoPolishsausage auniqueexaminationofself storyoftheSovietborndancer’s Don’tfretyourfaveindiestripswill O M SN L destructiverockmusicians extraordinarylife return! ADVERTISING NEWS&POLITICS HotelbytheRiverinjectsa -- -@ C @ 08 Joravsky|PoliticsAldermen senseofinstabilityintopleasant MUSIC&NIGHTLIFE O I S M-NF justraisedpropertytaxestopayfor interactionsandWildNights 29 FeatureNaturalInformation SD PF Rahm’sTIFhandouttohispals withEmilyisasparklingindie Societymakethestageahome M-N’ V PS 10 Isaacs|CultureThebattleover andviceversa AM SA R J L A R LM-H CR M TP COMICS FEATURE NA V MG --- J LSB ---------------------------------------------------------------- DC [email protected] -- STMREADERLLC BPD RL Surviving with weed TE R S JS Medical marijuana was an abstract A- S V concept until my sister-in-law C EB suff ered a brain aneurysm. C ---------------------------------------------------------------- B SWL R ISSN- STMRLLC W12 SM SC IL -- C ©C R P C IL A C RR RR T® 2 CHICAOREADER - APRIL ll CITY LIFE SUMMER ART CAMPS JUNE-AUGUST 2019 A “No Smoking” sign at the Clark/ Lake station CTA TRANSPORTATION A chronic problem JOIN US THIS SUMMER FOR WEEK-LONG You can’t spell “contact high” without the CTA. MULTIMEDIA CAMPS FOR AGES 3-16 YEARS By JG DESIGNED TO INSPIRE YOUR CHILD’S IMAGINATION IN A SUPPORTIVE, FUN AND ’ll never forget the first time I walked due to the rising popularity of Uber and Lyft, NON-COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT. into a hot-boxed CTA el car. On a week- especially on weekends. During the first 11 night two summers ago, I was heading months of 2017, el boarding fell by 12 percent home from the Grand Red Line station. on Saturdays and 13 percent on Sundays, As the train doors opened, I stepped into compared to that period in 2015. Fewer people POTTERY, Ia haze of smoke and breathed in the telltale, riding trains may embolden smoking sco aws MOVIE MAKING, love-it-or-hate-it aroma of marijuana. A group to light up, since it lowers the chances of of teenagers passing a joint were nearly roll- other passengers reporting them. The fi ne for PHOTOGRAPHY, ing in the aisle with laughter. Not being a weed smoking or vaping on CTA property, enforced TEXTILES, afi cionado myself, I rolled my eyes and headed by Chicago Police Department o cers, ranges to the next carriage. from $100 to $300. JEWELRY, Since then, it appears that the phenomenon A Streetsblog reader called my attention to COMICS, of CTA customers illegally smoking pot or, the issue earlier this year, complaining that more often, cigarettes on trains has picked he’s exposed to secondhand smoke once or PAINTING up speed. Nowadays it seems like every other twice a week on the train, and said the prob- AND MORE! time I ride the 24-hour Red or Blue lines in the lem is especially prevalent on the Forest Park REGISTER ONLINE late evening, there’s evidence that someone branch of the Blue Line. “It is clear to me that has recently smoked or toked on transit, or is they . do not care about their fellow passen- AT LILLSTREET.COM. about to. Judging by comments from Streets- gers or any possible repercussions.” blog readers and on social media, this issue In response to a Facebook query I posted, 773-769-4226 seems to have shifted into high gear in recent Danielle McKinnie, a technical trainer at a hos- months, especially during the brutal winter pital, also told me CTA smoking is on the rise. 4401 N RAVENSWOOD AVE we just survived. After a recent PM commute on the Red Line, There’s a correlation between the apparent during which people were walking through increase in marijuana and cigarette smoking the train smoking, her husband picked her up on trains and the decrease in CTA ridership at 95th Street. “He asked where I had been J ll APRIL - CHICAOREADER 3 CITY LIFE continued from 3 parcels in tow, or sleeping horizontally across because I smelled like smoke,” she said. “He the bench seating, seem to be increasingly thought I’d been to a club.” common. Fans of the Twitter feed CTA Fails concur. Nicole Richardson, vice president of clinical “Literally, actually sick of all the smokers operations for Thresholds, a social service on the Blue Line,” tweeted one. “Every day, agency that helps people with mental illness, there’s a car full of smoke.” blamed Chicago’s continuing homelessness “Nothing like [coming from] the AM com- crisis on a shortage of affordable housing, mute reeking of weed,” tweeted another. “We exacerbated by factors like the reduction of will all surely be making great impressions the number of SROs due to gentrification. today.” While she didn’t draw a direct line between Not everyone has a problem with getting a the closure of half of the city’s mental health CTA contact high. “I was stuck on the Blue Line clinics under the Emanuel administration and once, with everyone freaking out and getting the high incidence of mentally ill people living pissed,” production designer Vanessa Mathai on the street, she said “a gap in social services said in response to my Facebook post. “Some across our entire system” is contributing to dude pulls out a huge joint and smokes up half the problem. the car while we waited. Just lovely!” Thresholds has six outreach workers who But assuming you’re not cool with a lungful try to build trust with homeless folks on the of someone else’s dank weed or cancer-stick Red and Blue lines, as well as in the Thompson smoke, what’s the best response? You could Center, the Pedway, the Harold Washington confront them, but that carries a certain Library, and Lower Wacker. They offer food, amount of risk. Last month CBS noted that re- water, clothing, and fellowship in hopes of ported incidents of violent crime on CTA plat- eventually connecting people in need with forms increased from 263 cases in 2014 to 447 social services. incidents in 2018. Already this year we’ve seen Asked about a possible link between home- everything from a CTA worker being used as a lessness and an increase in train smoking, human shield and repeatedly stabbed during Richardson pointed to studies that suggest a fi ght at the Roosevelt station, to a hammer nicotine is more addictive for people with attack on a Red Line car near Grand. schizophrenia. People with mental illness have As an alternative to a direct confrontation also been found to smoke at two to four times with a smoker, a CTA spokesperson recom- the rate of the general population. “Like any mended switching cars at a stop and using other drug, nicotine is a coping mechanism,” the intercom to notify the train operator. Of she said. course, that could delay the train and piss o© Richardson acknowledged that smoking on fellow customers. The rep also noted that “No transit is problematic. “I’m not a smoker, so Smoking” signs are ubiquitous on CTA prop- I do find it annoying when I have to walk by erty, and the agency recently launched a PR somebody who is.” campaign to remind customers that pu ng on The CTA needs to find a better solution public transportation is verboten. to this vexing problem, which could further So why do people still do it? To gain some in- drag down ridership. Perhaps installing sight, I rode the Red Line at 11 PM on a Tuesday airplane-style smoke detectors? and interviewed a few smokers. After boarding But in the meantime,