Marijuana is expected to be sold legally in Illinois for the first time in decades Monday to those who have qualified to be among the first patients in the state’s medical cannabis program.

Barring any last-minute glitches, up to eight marijuana dispensaries, including several in the Chicago area, are scheduled to open Monday, after state regulators gave cultivation centers the go-ahead to start shipping the drug to the retailers late last week.

Five of the dispensaries – in Addison, Canton, Marion, Mundelein and Quincy- confirmed they have inventory and are ready to open, according to the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois.

Illinois officials said they mailed the required ID cards Oct. 30 to qualifying patients, whose numbers have climbed to about 3,300 — still well below the number that many people in the fledgling industry say is needed to make the business viable in Illinois [Read more at the Chicago Tribune]