  We study the nonrelativistic limit of the theory of a quantum Chern--Simons
field minimally coupled to Dirac fermions. To get the nonrelativistic effective
Lagrangian one has to incorporate vacuum polarization and anomalous magnetic
moment effects. Besides that, an unsuspected quartic fermionic interaction may
also be induced. As a by product, the method we use to calculate loop diagrams,
separating low and high loop momenta contributions, allows to identify how a
quantum nonrelativistic theory nests in a relativistic one.
