Lake Villa dispatcher fired after buying pot for aunt

After losing her job as a dispatcher after buying her cancer-ridden aunt marijuana, Laura Llanes says she would do it again.

Llanes was fired last week for buying the marijuana to help relieve her aunt's suffering through breast cancer and chemotherapy. Marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal with a prescription in 13 states, but not in Illinois.

Although not charged with a crime, when confronted by her supervisor at CenCom E-9-11, she acknowledged she had bought marijuana and was fired Wednesday.

Llanes has worked four years for CenCom in Round Lake Beach, which serves eight north suburban police and fire departments.

A bill introduced in the Illinois legislature calls for allowing the medicinal use of marijuana in a three-year test program. Critics oppose the legislation because of concerns about potential abuse and enforcement.