Law Illinois MMJ

[Baron23]

US News
Pro-marijuana legalization Dem J.B. Pritzker wins primary for Illinois governor’s race


By Sara Burnett and John O'Connor, Associated Press

CHICAGO — The race for Illinois governor will be a battle between two deep-pocketed candidates who’ve already sunk more than $120 million of their own money into the contest, putting it on pace to become the costliest such campaign in U.S. history.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, a wealthy former private equity investor, defeated conservative state Rep. Jeanne Ives on Tuesday for the GOP nomination.

“We are in a critical time, a critical turning point in Illinois,” Rauner told supporters. “I am humbled by this victory. You have given me a chance to win the battle against corruption that plagues Illinois.”

He will face Democratic billionaire J.B. Pritzker, an investor and heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune. Pritzker easily won the primary over Chris Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy; and Daniel Biss, 40, a state senator who campaigned as the “middle-class candidate.”

Pritzker, 53, already has spent more than $70 million to bankroll his campaign, while Rauner has put in about $50 million and has received millions more from his wealthy friends in the business community. Combined they’re expected to top California in 2010 as the nation’s most expensive governor’s race.

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Pritzker pledged to defeat Rauner but told supporters “we have a real fight ahead of us.”
“Tonight, we’ve taken the next step of beating Bruce Rauner and putting Illinois back on the side of working families,” he told a cheering crowd at his campaign party. “I will fight today, and tomorrow, and every day of this election and every day after to get our state back on track.”

Rauner, 61, took advantage of a national GOP wave four years ago to pull off a surprising victory in a state otherwise dominated by Democrats and win his first political office. Rauner’s personal wealth is just shy of $1 billion, but Pritzker — an investor and one of the heirs to the Hyatt hotel chain — is worth several times more.

Ives raised just $4 million — less than any of the other prominent candidates. Once dismissed by Rauner as a “fringe” candidate, she gave him a tougher-than-expected race, attacking the governor’s conservative credentials in edgy TV ads. One of them, which the chairman of the state GOP blasted as a “cowardly attempt to stoke political division,” portrays actors mockingly thanking Rauner for not doing enough to restrict illegal immigration, abortion and transgender bathroom rights.

In other races on the Illinois primary ballot, former Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn — whom Rauner ousted in 2014 — was locked in a tough competition with state Sen. Kwame Raoul for state attorney general. There also are numerous contested congressional primary races, including progressive candidate Marie Newman’s challenge to seven-term Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski.

But none involved the kind of spending as seen in the governor’s race. Personal wealth solidified Rauner and Pritzker’s front-runner status but also made them frequent targets for opponent attacks. Even Kennedy spent $2 million of his own money on the race.

Biss, a Harvard-educated mathematician who gave up teaching to enter politics, set up a website to track what he says is a $171,000-a-day campaign by Pritzker. The Democratic front-runner has been advertising on television from nearly the moment he announced his candidacy 11 months ago.

Pritzker’s opponents also have attacked his connections with overseas trusts in low-tax countries, though he maintains they’re focused on charitable giving and that he has no control over them. In response, Biss has called him a “fraud” while Kennedy labeled him a “liar.”

But far more damaging were ads that Rauner ran against Pritzker after wiretap audio surfaced of him talking with former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The ads included a 30-minute infomercial-style ad with the full FBI recordings.

Rauner took on Pritzker again when more tapes surfaced from the Chicago Tribune. They revealed Pritzker describing Secretary of State Jesse White — a Pritzker backer — as the “least offensive” black officeholder to be considered for the Senate seat vacated by then-President-elect Barack Obama. Pritzker has apologized, and White continues to back him.

Although Biss has built his campaign around claiming to be the “middle-class candidate,” he has faced criticism as the architect of a plan to cut the roughly $100 billion gap in pension funding for the cash-strapped state by reducing some of the promised retirement benefits. Although he says he has learned his lesson and won’t support it again, Pritzker has repeatedly criticized his change of heart.

Biss and Kennedy have teamed up against Pritzker for his silence on whether Michael Madigan, the longest-serving state House speaker in modern U.S. history, should step aside because of criticism about how he handled sexual harassment complaints by campaign workers against two of his political aides.

Rauner also has invoked Madigan in his ads against Ives, calling her “Mike Madigan’s favorite Republican and Illinois’ worst nightmare.”

Rauner rolled to victory in 2014 with a promise to “shake up” Springfield with a pro-business, anti-union agenda including lower property taxes and term limits on officeholders. But his ongoing spat with Madigan and other legislative Democrats left the state without a budget for two years while billions of dollars of debt piled up.

 

[Baron23]

Illinois’ main bank for the medical marijuana industry will close all cannabis accounts

Bank of Springfield has serviced Illinois’ medical marijuana industry for two years. Now the local financial institution is changing its tune, and it’s all thanks to Jeff Sessions.

America's cannabis industry banking issues hit Illinois this week, and it's all thanks to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' anti-marijuana posturing.

Illinois' Bank of Springfield has informed all of its clients working in the state's medical marijuana pilot program that their accounts will be terminated on May 21st, the Chicago Tribune reports. After working amicably with the cannabis industry for the last two years, the bank's abrupt dismissal could force dispensaries and distributors to deal strictly in cash.

"This is the closest we've been to being without banks in Illinois in this industry… which isn't good," Ross Morreale, co-founder of Ataraxia, which owns a cultivation facility in southern Illinois and co-owns three dispensaries, told theTribune. "It makes everything more difficult."

Since California first legalized cannabis for medicinal use in 1996, the world of legal weed has continually butted heads with financial institutions. Time and again, banks have refused to handle money even tangentially tied to marijuana sales, claiming that necessary federal insurance policies legally prohibit them from interacting with canna-businesses.

Just last week, those banking inconsistencies forced the closure of Alaska's Steep Hill Laboratory, a fully licensed legal weed testing lab, after officials at Wells Fargo threatened to pull the research facility's lease out from under its landlord. Even without a direct tie to Wells Fargo, the bank decided that financing a landlord with relations to the legal weed industry was flying too close to the sun.

But while Wells Fargo had threatened to pull Steep Hill's lease as late as last year, Bank of Springfield has been clear that their decision to cut all canna-business ties was a direct result of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' revocation of the Obama-era Cole Memo, which previously offered de facto protections for state-approved adult-use marijuana business from the feds.

Even though Bank of Springfield only interacts with purveyors of medical and not recreational marijuana, the Illinois bank was still inspired to cut all ties with the controversial plant due to Sessions' January announcement. And this is despite the medical marijuana industry being protected from the feds by the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, as well as Sessions recently stating that the Department of Justice will not be targeting cases involving minor cannabis crimes.

"The bank's stance is that protecting their customers is paramount," Bank of Springfield spokesman Andrew Mack told the Tribune. "The Bank of Springfield will not jeopardize any of their customers by working with businesses that operate in the legal gray zone."

Now, like the rest of America's cannabis industry operators unable to find a willing financial institution to house their cash, a significant number of Illinois' medical marijuana producers, distributors, and retailers will be forced to pay their bills, taxes, and employees in stacks of cash — all which could create an entirely new host of security and transparency issues.

Illinois medical cannabis companies currently relying on Bank of Springfield accounts still have over 40 days to find a new bank willing to accept their controversial cash, or to at least invest in a better safe.

"For the industry at large, it's a real kind of punch in the gut," Jeremy Unruh, director of public and regulatory policy for Illinois medical marijuana operator PharmaCann, told the Tribune. "If you're a dispensary, you need to pay for a wholesale product, and you don't have a bank. How do you do it? That transaction might have to be in cash."

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Senate Votes To Give Medical Marijuana to Opioid Addicts

Yesterday, Illinois lawmakers cast an important vote. In response to the opioid crisis sweeping the nation, the Illinois Senate voted to give opioid addicts access to medical marijuana. Considering the state’s restrictive medical marijuana program and a spike in opioid-related hospital visits last year, this is a significant medical victory for Illinois.

Temporary Access To Medical Marijuana
The bill passed 44 to 6 in the Illinois Senate. It mandates that opioid-addiction patients will receive a twelve-month medical marijuana card, requiring doctor approval. Only with the proper approvals can dispensary employees prescribe medical marijuana.

There will, however, be a strict limit on how much cannabis opioid addicts can buy. Every two weeks, patients can get 2.5 ounces maximum.

Eventually, opioid addicts could qualify for permanent medical marijuana cards. If the side effects of their addiction continue after the trial 12-month period, patients can request a full-fledged card.

This would also give people prescribed opioids for pain access to marijuana. Rebecca Mason, Director of Communications for the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois explained that the way the law stands, opioids are the only pain killer option for many.

“Illinois has a series of qualifying conditions [for medical marijuana], but we don’t have a chronic pain condition,” Mason said. “So if you have an illness that is causing you pain but isn’t on the debilitating conditions list, and your physician would write you an opioid prescription, at the moment you could not talk with your physician, or make the decision to use medical cannabis.”

The Bill Had Wide-Reaching Political Support
Democratic State Senator Don Harmon sponsored the legislation. He told the Chicago Tribune, “When people ask me if we are not simply creating a gateway, I tell people this: I don’t know if cannabis is addictive, but I do know this: Opioids and heroin kills people, cannabis does not.”

Even the Republican Governor Bruce Rauner does not oppose medical marijuana for opioid addicts.

Medical marijuana advocates in Illinois see this legislation as progress, including the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois. “We, the dispensaries, see, first hand, what a difference it can make for patients,” Mason comments.

Not Everyone Sees Illinois’ Legislation As Altruistic
Republican State Senator Kyle McCarter took a stand against Illinois’ new marijuana bill. He argues that legislators only want medical marijuana because they have a financial state in its success. With the number of new patients who would now qualify for cannabis, dispensaries stand to make a lot more money.

Senator McCarter explains, “I just want to make note and remind people that the medical marijuana program was lobbied by people who now own it.”

And he isn’t wrong. In 2017, medical marijuana supporters donated $8,000 to Senator Harmon’s campaign.

Medical Marijuana Benefits People With Opioid Addictions
Campaign donations aside, medical marijuana is one of the most effective treatments for opioid addicts. Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently outlined how medical marijuana could heal the nation’s opioid epidemic in a letter to Jeff Sessions.

Per Dr. Gupta, there are three ways cannabis can treat opioid addiction. First, it is an effective painkiller that also targets the source of the pain: inflammation. Marijuana also diminishes the symptoms of opioid withdrawal, specifically vomiting and loss of appetite. It can also help repair neurotransmitters damaged by opioid use.

Opioid-Related Deaths Are More and More Common
Last year, 45,000 Americans died from opioid-related causes. Rebecca Mason told High Times, “Our state government did a study and estimated that by 2020, 2700 people in Illinois will die from an overdose.”

It would seem that, as a result, even the staunchest of medical marijuana opponents are desperate to find a way to curb this epidemic.

Back in December, Governor Rauner had some scathing things to say about marijuana.

“I do not support legalizing marijuana,” he announced. “I think that’s a mistake. You know there’s a massive, human experiment going on in Colorado, and California, other places. We should see how that’s impacted lives and addiction and hurt young people before we make any decision about it here.”

Today, however, the Governor has not publically denounced the newest medical marijuana legislation.

The Future of Illinois’ Medical Marijuana Progam
As the Illinois Senate votes to give medical marijuana to opioid addicts, the state’s entire deficient program enters the spotlight. Though the majority of Illinois residents support recreational marijuana, the state has had difficulty maintaining a functional medical cannabis program.

Though Illinois legalized medical marijuana in 2013, patients didn’t have access until 2015. To make matters more difficult, the largest bank that worked with dispensaries, the Bank of Springfield, told its marijuana industry customers that they will no longer be welcome. This happened earlier this month

Hopefully, this extension to Illinois’ medical marijuana program symbolizes a sea-change in the state’s less than progressive cannabis policy.

 

[Baron23]

Every two weeks, patients can get 2.5 ounces maximum.

Yowzer....that's 1 1/4 oz per week. Rather generous, I think. MD allows med patients 4 oz/month and at least for me that's also very generous.

How much of that 1 1/4/week do you think might get resold on black market to fund a nice shot of heroin or some Oxycontin ?

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Children Could Be Helped by Medical Marijuana at Schools

Under "Ashley's Law," parents, guardians and caregivers would be allowed to administer medical cannabis at school, but school personnel would not be required to. (Twenty20/Kate Bilyeu)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A bill that would allow children to receive medical marijuana in schools is awaiting Gov. Bruce Rauner's signature.

Supporters are quick to snuff claims that the bill would lead to kids smoking pot in schools. The bill dubbed "Ashley's Law" is named after Ashley Surin, an 11-year-old girl who wasn't allowed to take medical cannabis for her seizures at her school in Schaumburg.

Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said the bill passed last week by the General Assembly will help a growing number of families who've found cannabis to be a viable treatment.

"This is not legalizing kids to be smoking pot in schools,” Linn explained. “For one thing, the Illinois Medical Cannabis pilot program only allows minors to consume non-smokable products: so, edibles, oils, topicals. "

While championed by Democrats, Illinois lawmakers from both sides of the isle are supporting the measure as it now heads to the governor's desk.

Linn said the bill is a common-sense approach to helping kids who may experience a medical emergency while on school grounds or on a school bus.

"The ability to prevent a seizure from happening even in cases of that child being in school, you know, I think that's something that's in the best interest of the child's health as well as the other children who may be in the proximity of that individual,” he said.

Illinois is one of 29 states that allows medical marijuana for treating patients with qualifying conditions.

 

[Baron23]

And the tide keeps rolling in....hopefully to swamp Jeff Sessions and the rest of the prohibitionists.

Illinois lawmakers OK medical marijuana as painkiller substitute, bill now goes to governor

Illinois lawmakers have approved a measure not only to allow medical marijuana to be used in place of prescription painkillers, but to eliminate requirements for patients to get fingerprints and criminal background checks.

The change would allow all new applicants to buy medical marijuana from licensed dispensaries based on their doctors’ orders, rather than having to wait up to four months for bureaucratic approval. Patients could no longer be denied based on criminal convictions.

Gov. Bruce Rauner faces a decision over whether to sign the bill into law. Rauner has opposed most expansion of medical marijuana, and could not be reached for comment, but there are some indications he may change his mind in this case. The measure passed with broad bipartisan support.

The original sponsor of the bill, state Sen. Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park, said he was impressed by testimony at hearings in Springfield from patients who had used marijuana to reduce or eliminate use of opioids like Vicodin.

While science is not settled on the efficacy of using cannabis in place of narcotics, Harmon said, “The only two things I know for certain is, opioids kill people, and marijuana does not.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly half a million people in the U.S. died of opioid-related overdoses between 2000 and 2014. In Illinois, opioid overdoses have been linked to more than 11,000 fatalities since 2008. But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports no deaths from an overdose of marijuana.

The fingerprints and background checks have long been the most common complaint about the state’s medical cannabis pilot program, which began sales in 2015 and is scheduled to expire in mid-2020.

The change could allow a dramatic expansion of medical marijuana use in Illinois. There are only about 37,000 licensed users now, compared with 8 million opioid prescriptions filled in the state in 2015.

Illinois Department of Public Health officials supported the end of the background check, Harmon said, recognizing that it was a bottleneck causing backups of patient approvals. The cooperation from state officials in the Rauner administration suggests he may be more open to the changes, Harmon said.

Rauner opposes a separate bill to legalize, tax and regulate recreational marijuana. Facing an election for governor in November in which Democratic opponent J.B. Pritzker favors legalized pot, expansion of medical marijuana represents a potential political middle ground. Pritzker also was not available for immediate comment.

Despite laws that have legalizing pot in many states, it remains illegal under federal law. Studies have shown that states that legalized medical marijuana had doctors issue fewer prescriptions for opioids, and had fewer deaths from opioid overdose. But one study of surveys from 2005 and before found that cannabis users appeared to have a higher risk of abusing opioids.

In general, the National Academies of Sciences has reported that there is substantial evidence indicating that marijuana is effective in treating chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy, and muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis. The Food and Drug Administration remains skeptical, and has approved synthetic versions of THC, the component that gets users high, but have not approved the plant as medicine.

The Illinois General Assembly also approved a measure allowing the state to license the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp, defined as the cannabis sativa plant with less than .3 percent THC. The material does not get users high, but can be used in the production of textiles and other materials. That measure also goes to the governor’s desk.

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Allowing Medical Cannabis to be Consumed at Schools
Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has signed into law a bill allowing students who are medical cannabis patients to use their medicine on school premises.


Governor Rauner’s signing of House Bill 4870 comes roughly two and a half months after the legislature passed the measure by a vote of 149 to 3.

The legislation is known as Ashley’s Law, named after 12-year-old Ashley Surin who uses medical marijuana to treat the epilepsy she developed during chemotherapy. The bill amends the Illinois School Code to require “a school district, public school, charter school, or nonpublic school to authorize a parent or guardian of a student who is a qualifying patient to administer a medical cannabis infused product to the student on school premises or a school bus if both the student (as a qualifying patient) and the parent or guardian (as a designated caregiver) have been issued registry identification cards under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act.”


The measure “Provides that a parent or guardian may not administer a medical cannabis infused product if the administration would create disruption to the school’s educational environment or would cause exposure of the product to other students”, and “Provides that nothing in the provision requires a member of the school’s staff to administer a medical cannabis infused product to a student.”

An amendment passed by the House states:

Provides that the provision may be referred to as Ashley’s Law. Defines terms. Provides that, in addition to the parent or guardian of a student who is a registered qualifying patient, an individual registered with the Department of Public Health as a designated caregiver may administer a medical cannabis infused product to that student. Makes conforming changes. Provides that a parent or guardian or other individual may not administer a medical cannabis infused product in a manner that, in the opinion of the school district or school, would create a disruption to the school’s educational environment or would cause exposure of the product to other students (rather than prohibiting any administration that would create a disruption or cause exposure). Makes other changes concerning restrictions.

The full text of the measure, which took effect immediately after being signed by Governor Rauner, can be found by clicking here.

 

[momofthegoons]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/?post_type=cst_article&p=1312850
https://chicago.suntimes.com/?post_type=cst_article&p=1312850
Rauner to take action on alternatives to Opioids Act by Tuesday

Gov. Bruce Rauner is expected to take action on a bill that would give opioid patients the option to use medical cannabis to treat their pain.

Rauner’s office said he is currently reviewing the bill and will act on it by Tuesday’s deadline. If the governor vetoes the measure, the Legislature can override the move with a three-fifths vote in both houses.

The bill, dubbed the Alternatives to Opioids Act, would significantly expand the state’s medical cannabis pilot program by giving people who have been prescribed opioids the opportunity to obtain a temporary medical cannabis card.

Under the bill, temporary access could not exceed 90 days, although a doctor could re-certify a patient after that point. The measure would also eliminate requirements for temporary patients to submit to background checks and fingerprinting.

It’s unclear how many new patients the legislation would bring to the state’s medical cannabis program or how much additional revenue would be generated, according to state Sen. Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, who co-sponsored the bill alongside state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago.

Bob Morgan, Illinois’ former medical cannabis czar, estimated that the measure would help “tens of thousands of people in Illinois” who would be granted expedited access to a medical cannabis card.

“The Act adds an important new tool for physicians in Illinois — allowing a doctor to issue a medical cannabis certification instead of prescribing highly-addictive opioids,” Morgan added.

Lawmakers from both parties have rallied around the bill as they search for new ways to respond to the mounting toll of the opioid crisis.

In 2016, 1,946 people died in Illinois from opioid overdoses, nearly twice the number of people killed in fatal crashes in the state, according to the most recent data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Overall opioid deaths in Illinois increased 82 percent between 2013 and 2016, according to the IDPH, which attributed the spike to the rise of synthetic painkilers like fentanyl.

“It certainly does seem to have grown out of control,” Harmon told the Sun-Times earlier this year. “I know a lot of people are dying from heroin and opioid overdoses, and I don’t know of anyone who has died from a cannabis overdose.”

 

[Baron23]

5 things to know about the expanded medical marijuana law in Illinois


llinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed into law a measure that stands to create a new class of medical marijuana users. Here’s a look at what the change will mean:

1. More access …
The new law allows medical marijuana to be used as a replacement for opioid pain medication. That means anyone whose doctor would write them a prescription for pain pills like OxyContin or Vicodin could be certified for medical marijuana. Eventually, patients will be able to take their doctor certifications directly to a dispensary, complete their registration there and begin purchasing cannabis, and state health officials will review the registration later to make sure it meets the requirements of the law. But state officials say dispensary computer systems need to be upgraded before that will be possible.

2. … and easier access.
For other medical cannabis patients — those who have one of about 40 qualifying serious and often chronic conditions — the application process will no longer include background checks and fingerprinting. And patients will be able to get provisional approval to buy marijuana while their applications are being processed.

3. How much and how long.

Those who qualify for medical pot for opioid replacement will be able to purchase cannabis at a licensed dispensary for 90 days, but that can be renewed with a physician’s approval. For other patients, certification lasts for three years, a time frame that was earlier lengthened from one year. Qualifying patients can buy up to 2.5 ounces every two weeks. The medical marijuana law — including the new opioid-replacement measure — is still in a pilot phase until July 1, 2020, so it would need to be extended or made permanent in order to continue beyond that date.

4. What about intractable pain?
The governor and the state health chief may have endorsed marijuana as a painkiller substitute, but the state is still fighting in court over adding so-called intractable pain — or pain that’s resistant to other treatment — as its own qualifying condition. In January, a Cook County judge ordered intractable pain to be added to the list, but the state chose to appeal the ruling.

5. Is legalization next?
Despite Rauner’s endorsement of the new law, he has resisted other proposed expansions of medical cannabis and has said he’s not in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana. But his Democratic November opponent, J.B. Pritzker, has endorsed full legalization, and backers of such a bill plan to push for its passage after the election.

 

[Baron23]

Well, the fine and apparently smart people of IL gave Bruce Rauner his walking papers. Now to see how soon "almost immediately" is....NJ Gov made same promises but found it was harder to do than he thought.

Pritzker wants to legalize recreational marijuana 'nearly right away' in Illinois

CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - Governor-elect JB Pritzker said Wednesday he wants to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois almost immediately after being sworn in next year.

“That’s something we can work on nearly right away,” Pritzker told FOX 32’s Mike Flannery.

He also said he will look at vacating arrest records for those who have been convicted of crimes involving marijuana.


“I definitely want to look at all those arrest records. If we’re going to legalize recreational marijuana, then we shouldn’t have all the, what I think are, challenges in our criminal justice system, you know, still existing, people sitting in prison for things that are currently legal,” Pritzker said.

The governor-elect can legalize recreational marijuana simply by signing legislation passed by lawmakers in the general assembly. Illinois residents do not have to vote to approve the measure.

Pritzker, a billionaire who campaigned on making wealthy taxpayers pay more in income taxes as part of a plan to move Illinois past the political bitterness of the past four years, was elected governor Tuesday over Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Rauner conceded the race less than an hour after polls closed Tuesday night, sounding a clarion call of teamwork often missing from his heated tilts with Democrats in Springfield.

“Now we stand not as Republicans or Democrats, we stand as the people of Illinois,” Rauner said. “Now we move forward together to come up with solutions to create a better future. I encourage all of us to put aside partisan politics, rancor and hard feelings. Now is the time to move forward.”

On Tuesday, the state of Michigan approved a ballot measure that will legalize marijuana similar to alcohol. The measure passed with 56 percent of the vote, with 96 percent of precincts reporting Wednesday morning.

 

[Baron23]

Politics
Illinois Governor Pledges To Legalize Marijuana In Inaugural Address

Newly sworn-in Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) confirmed in his inaugural address on Monday that he plans to make good on a campaign promise to legalize marijuana.

“In the interests of keeping the public safe from harm, expanding true justice in our criminal justice system, and advancing economic inclusion, I will work with the legislature to legalize, tax and regulate the sale of recreational cannabis in Illinois,” Pritzker said in remarks shortly after taking the oath of office.


Pritzker had made legalizing marijuana a centerpiece of his election campaign last year going back to the Democratic primary, during which he held a press conference outside of a medical cannabis dispensary at one point.

Shortly after the general election, in which he ousted now former Gov. Bruce Rauner (R), Pritzker said that he wanted to pursue ending marijuana prohibition “right away” following his inauguration.

A recent study found that legalization would create 24,000 jobs in Illinois, as well as generate more than $500 million in tax revenue and infuse about $1 billion into the state economy overall by 2020.

A Democratic senator last week moved to file placeholder legislation to legalize cannabis.

Pritzker isn’t the only state governor to focus on marijuana during a big speech this month.

Reelected New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) pledged to legalize cannabis during his inaugural address, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) spoke about decriminalizing marijuana possession in his State of the Commonwealth speech and new Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) touted the benefits of hemp and legal cannabis as part of his State of the State address.

 

[CarolKing]

Philadelphia District Attorney Won’t Prosecute Cannabis DUIs
The City of Brotherly Love is moving toward commonsense law reform.

May 3, 2019
By
A.J. Herrington

Andrey Popov/ Shutterstock


The District Attorney for Philadelphia announced at a legislative hearing on Monday that he will not prosecute cases of driving under the influence of cannabis. At a joint meeting of the Democratic Policy committees at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said that his office would not prosecute cannabis DUIs “unless people show active — I repeat, active — psychoactive amounts of cannabis in their system that rise to a level which has generally scientifically been agreed upon as affecting driving.” Such an agreed upon standard does not currently exist.

Current Law is ‘Absurd’
“What that law currently says is that if there is any detectable amount of digested marijuana in your system, then you are DUI,” Krasner said. “So in other words, if I smoked a joint 30 days ago, it has absolutely no psychoactive effect whatsoever on anything I am doing, and I drive a car, then I am driving under the influence. This is absurd.”

Krasner said that Pennsylvania’s current cannabis laws are “dumb.”

“It has been the law in Pennsylvania forever. It is on a collision course with our medical marijuana, which is going to tell people medically it’s OK for you to take this for the various neuropathy or other forms of disease that you have, but somehow you can’t drive,” he said. “It’s absurd and it’s indicative of what we have gotten from the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association.”

Krasner was reacting to testimony at the hearing from John T. Adams, the Berks County District Attorney and president of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, who was arguing against the legalization of cannabis in Pennsylvania.

“Recreational marijuana is not safe or harmless,” Adams said. “Our opposition stems from science, research and data, as well as information from our addiction specialists.”

But Krasner, who characterized the District Attorneys Association as the group that “gave us an 800 percent increase in jail population,” said that it is “not really relying on science

 

[Baron23]

o 10% of the purchase price – Cannabis with a THC level at or below 35%
o 20% of the purchase price – All cannabis infused products
o 25% of the purchase price – Cannabis with a THC level above 35%
​

This sliding tax scales makes absolutely no sense to me...aside from politicians basic instinct to fleece citizens of every fucking penny they can get their grubby little hands on.

Illinois releases plan for full legalization

This past Saturday, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker released the plan for full cannabis legalization which is set to begin on January 1, 2020. Companies that currently had medical cannabis licenses would get a jump on other companies with regards to applying for licenses.

According to the plan, new licenses for dispensaries would begin on May 1 and processors, craft growers and transporters would begin licensing on July 1. It wouldn’t be until late 2021, that the next round of businesses would receive licenses.

The proposed law for adult-use cannabis would legalize possession of up to 30 grams for residents over the age of 21. Non-residents are only approved for about half that amount. Municipalities could ban retail stores within their boundaries within the first year of the program.

Expungement is a key part of the new legislation as those with misdemeanor or Class 4 felony cannabis convictions would see their records wiped clean. It is expected that at least 800,000 people will benefit from this move. In addition to that, a $20 million low-interest loan program will be established to encourage diversity in cannabis business ownership.

"DCEO will administer a low-interest loan program to qualified “social equity applicants” to help
defray the start-up costs associated with entering the licensed cannabis industry."
Under the proposed rules, no new large-scale commercial growers would be permitted at this time. The focus would be on small “craft” growers, with an emphasis on creating diversity. Residents will be allowed to grow up to five plants as long as the plants are out of public view.

“We have to ensure it’s not a small group of people getting very rich,” said Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, one of the measure’s sponsors. “We want to make a lot of new business leaders in the state through this process.”

The fees are as follows:
Cultivation organizations:
• Non-refundable permit fee: $100,000
• Cannabis business development fund fee: 5% of total sales between July 1, 2018
to July 1, 2019 or $500,000, whichever is less.
§ Dispensing organizations:
• License 1
o Non-refundable permit fee: $30,000
o Cannabis business development fund fee: 3% of total sales between July
1, 2018 to July 1, 2019 or $100,000, whichever is less.
• License 2
o Non-refundable permit fee: 30,000
o Cannabis business development fund fee: $200,000
Licensing costs for new entrants to the market
§ Craft growers
• Non-refundable application fee $5,000
• License fee $40,000
§ Processors
• Non-refundable application fee $5,000
• License fee $40,000
§ Transporting organizations
• Non-refundable application fee $5,000
• License fee $10,000
§ Dispensing organizations
• Non-refundable application fee $5,000
• License fee $30,000
The taxes are as follows:
Cannabis purchaser excise tax:
o 10% of the purchase price – Cannabis with a THC level at or below 35%
o 20% of the purchase price – All cannabis infused products
o 25% of the purchase price – Cannabis with a THC level above 35%
o These taxes shall be in addition to all other occupation, privilege, or excise taxes impose by the
State of Illinois or by any municipal corporation or political subdivision.
• Municipal purchaser excise tax:
o Municipalities may enact a purchaser excise tax up to 3% in increments of 0.25%
o Counties may enact a purchaser excise tax up to 0.5% in incorporated areas in increments of
0.25%
o Unincorporated areas may adopt a purchaser excise tax up to 3.5% in increments of 0.25%
Revenue would go toward paying for program costs and, after that, would fund the Restoring Our Communities grant program, substance abuse services, law enforcement grants, and the general state fund.

 

[CarolKing]

Wow the fees are sky high. How could craft type people pay that kind of money?
I read the state has a loan program but folks still need to pay it back.

 

[Baron23]

How could craft type people pay that kind of money?

No matter what they say (you do know the old saw about how you can tell a politician is lying...their lips are moving, yeah), it would appear from this fee structure that they are not interested in craft type people.

 

[Baron23]

“Minorities have said to me we don’t want this stuff in our neighborhood,” state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said at a news conference outside the Thompson Center in the Loop"​

While I don't support their opposition to legalization, there is some truth in this. We have seen black church leaders opposing legalization in NJ, for example, and some wealthy black friends opined long ago that the reason that thtey didn't pursue a license under MD's med program is that in their opinion many blacks associated any drug with the crime and personal tragedies from heroin and crack sales in their urban areas.


Legal pot opponents reject Pritzker's social equity arguments

Opponents of legalizing recreational marijuana in Illinois on Monday rejected Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s argument that his proposal would promote social equity by providing potential benefits to communities that have been disproportionately affected by enforcement of lower-level drug crimes.

“Minorities have said to me we don’t want this stuff in our neighborhood,” state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, said at a news conference outside the Thompson Center in the Loop. “There’s other ways to generate revenue, not on the backs of our children and young adults.”

A proposal unveiled over the weekend would allow residents 21 and older to possess up to 30 grams of marijuana for recreational use. The proposal also would allow members of communities most affected by enforcement of low-level drug crimes to participate in a low-interest loan program to become growers. In addition, it would expunge thousands of low-level drug convictions.

Moylan, joined at the news conference by medical professionals and representatives of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a group that lobbies against legalization nationwide, said legislation expunging misdemeanor marijuana offenses should not be tied to legalization. He said he thinks there are enough opponents in the state legislature to stop a bill.

At a separate event Monday, Pritzker said he remains confident that lawmakers will pass a recreational marijuana bill this session.

“I think we’re going to see, in Springfield, movement over the next several weeks,” the governor said. “There are some questions by others of tweaks to make to the bill, so that will probably occur. But I believe before May 31st we will have it in place.”

If that happens, dispensaries might start selling cannabis Jan. 1, 2020, he said.

Pritzker predicted that marijuana legalization would have a “massive impact” on black market sales of the product in Illinois. “That’s a major reason that legalizing it is so important,” he said.

“We wanted it to be a moderate tax rate that would not drive it back into the black market,” he said.

Moylan and the legalization opponents argue that expansion of legal pot would exacerbate an existing issue with use and addiction. He also expressed concerns over the levels of THC that could be allowed in marijuana products and said big businesses, not individuals, would benefit from the proposal.

Pritzker announced his proposal Saturday at the Black United Fund of Illinois on Chicago’s South Side, declaring that “Illinois is going to have the most equity-centric law in the nation.”

“Is selling candy marijuana social justice?” Dr. Ray Bertino, a retired Peoria physician who opposes legalization, asked at Monday’s news conference. “The sole focus of the industry is to sell as much marijuana as possible, and to get many to use as much marijuana as possible.”

Abu Edwards, national director for Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said the proposal benefits “white men in suits who work on Wall Street.”

“This is about creating a big business that African-Americans are not going to have the capital to get into,” said Edwards, who is African-American. “It’s not about a person smoking a joint, this about big corporate greed coming into our communities and benefiting off of addiction in our communities.”

Also on Monday, representatives of the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, which represents many growers and dispensaries, said it was too early to pass final judgment on the new legislation to legalize pot but that they were encouraged by the proposal.

Pam Althoff, the alliance’s executive director and lobbyist, said it was likely that some lawmakers who are calling for slowing down legalization will support it once they get something out of the deal.

John Sullivan, a board member of the alliance and official with Cresco Labs of Chicago, which runs three grow warehouses in the state, said even non-marijuana users should support legalization to address social justice problems caused by the war on drugs, and for public safety, with testing to ensure that users aren’t ingesting contaminants or pesticides.

 

[Baron23]

With the fee structure shown above, its hard to see how this is going to be accessible to lower income, inner city minorities......without the state basically funding them through loans almost entirely.

Governor of Illinois Reveals Plan to Legalize Recreational Cannabis
The proposal includes loan program for cannabis entrepreneurs from heavily policed neighborhoods.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker ran on a pro-pot platform and made cannabis legalization a priority when elected to office last year. Now, it seems like he may be making good on his promises to voters; local news channel WQAD 8 reports that on Saturday in Chicago, Pritzker announced that he’s “reached an agreement with key lawmakers” on a measure that would make it legal for adults 21 years and up to purchase marijuana.

If approved by policy makers, Pritzker said the plan could go into effect by the beginning of next year, with licenses issued to growing operations, processing sites, and dispensaries by May to July of 2020.

He said that debate will be opened in the state legislature on the measure starting Monday.

The plan also includes proposals to alleviate the negative effects that decades of the Drug War have left on some of Illinois’ most vulnerable communities. Low interest loans would be provided to cannabis entrepreneurs who are or who have been residents of neighborhoods that suffered from elevated levels of cannabis policing, via a proposed $20 million program. Also eligible for the financial boost would be individuals who have certain kinds of cannabis-related offenses on their criminal record — and many of those would be eligible for automatic expungement via Pritzker’s plan.


“This bill advances equity by providing resources and second chances to people and communities that have been harmed by policies such as the failed ‘war on drugs,'” commented Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who joined a group of other Illinois lawmakers in attendance at Pritzker’s announcement.

There is also a plan for the expected $170 million windfall that opening up the recreational industry could pull in licensing fees for the state. The governor’s office explained that of this sum, 35 percent would go to Illinois’ general operating plan, and another 25 percent to a “Restoring Our Communities” fund — again, to aid communities that experienced hardship during cannabis prohibition, or in the words of the governmental office, “have suffered the most because of discriminatory drug policies.” 10 percent would go to pay past expenses incurred by the state, and the remainder to programs that provide mental health aid, addiction treatment, law enforcement, and educational campaigns.

The plan is not the only proposal that has been fielded by the Illinois House of Representatives this year when it comes to regulating adult use marijuana. In January, House Bill 902 (which would allow for adults to cultivate up to 24 plants at home) was introduced. That bill has picked up new co-sponsors and seen steady movement over the last few months, and would send 30 percent of state tax from cannabis sales to school funding.


Should lawmakers prove amenable to the legalization measure, Illinois will have to greatly expand the number of cannabis growers who are currently producing marijuana for the state’s medical program. A report released in March found that current growers’ output would only meet 35 to 44 percent of the recreational market’s demands.

Illinois politicians first approved a pilot medical marijuana program in 2013, which is set to last through mid-2020 in its current form. Last year, lawmakers voted to expand access to the program to people suffering from opioid addiction.

 

[momofthegoons]

Growing recreational pot at home might not be allowed after all under Illinois legalization proposal, sponsors say



Just more than a week after introducing a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Illinois, sponsors have begun retooling the measure to appease critics.

In one of the most fundamental changes, sponsors say it is likely they will eliminate a provision to let all adult state residents grow up to five plants at home.

A member of the leading cannabis advocacy group, Illinois NORML, said if that change is made, the group will have to reconsider whether to support the bill.

But the change would address concerns from law enforcement that the homegrown provisions would make it difficult to find illegal growers.

LEARN MORE
State Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who are sponsors of the measure, as well as state Rep. Toi Hutchinson, confirmed they were strongly considering limiting five homegrown plants to medical marijuana patients only to ensure their access to medicine.

“We know we’re filing an amendment,” Steans said of the homegrown cutback. “I think that is likely.”

Westchester police Chief Steve Stelter, president of the Illinois Chiefs of Police Association, welcomed the proposed change, saying it will help prevent illegal growing operations.

“That would make a huge difference,” Stelter said.

“People say to pass the best bill you can and come back later to try and make it better,” Linn said. “But we’ve had significant problems with the (existing) medical cannabis program that we still have not been able to fix.”

The change would come in an amendment to the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act that sponsors hope to introduce in the next week or two. The timing is urgent, since lawmakers only have until May 31 to pass the bill in this legislative session. If approved, the measure would allow licensed dealers to sell cannabis beginning Jan. 1, 2020.

Sponsors of the bill held months of meetings and negotiations with numerous stakeholders, including law enforcement, industry members and representatives of Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The parties have continued giving feedback of all sorts since the governor unveiled the proposal May 5.

Sixty members of the House, a slight majority of the 118-member body, have signed a resolution asking to slow the legalization process. But Cassidy maintained that the bill is not in trouble.

“We introduced it anticipating there will be a round of changes,” Cassidy said. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback.”

The first hearing on the new legalization bill is set for Wednesday in Springfield.

 

[Baron23]

Oh, another story about a politician with their snout in the MJ trough. What a shock.

Secretary of State’s office probing Van Pelt’s pot-related endeavors
State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt was offering paid cannabis investment seminars and leading a company that intends to obtain licenses to grow and sell marijuana while she was named a co-sponsor of the bill to legalize the drug statewide.

In a promotional video advertising her online cannabis investment workshops, state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt assured those who would attend that she wants to “help some people get rich.”

The video, posted online in January, shows Van Pelt talking to a crowd about the prospect of becoming “marijuana millionaires” and says her knowledge of the industry will help people invest in it and make money.

Less than four months later, those seminars and another cannabis-related business Van Pelt is involved with are being investigated by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, a source confirmed to the Chicago Sun-Times.

It’s unclear exactly why the investigation was launched. But as Van Pelt was marketing the investment seminars and leading a company that intends to obtain licenses to grow and sell marijuana in the state, she also was named as co-sponsor of a bill to legalize the drug statewide.

After Van Pelt’s investments in cannabis-related businesses were made public last week in a report by WCIA in Champaign, the Chicago Democrat swiftly removed herself as a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 7, the measure that would lift Illinois’ prohibition on recreational weed. She had been listed as a co-sponsor for just over a week.

In an interview, Van Pelt downplayed her role in shaping the bill and said she removed herself because she didn’t want to become a “lightning rod” for criticism of the legalization effort.

“I had no role in drafting the language of the bill, have not been involved in any negotiations and will not be part of the rule-making process,” Van Pelt added in a statement sent later on.

In addition to charging nearly $100 to watch her online cannabis investment seminars, Van Pelt also serves as the president of WaKanna For Life. The multilevel marketing company — which currently sells CBD, a non-psychoactive chemical compound found in marijuana — ultimately aims to win licenses to grow and sell pot, according to company CEO Melissa Boston-Atoyebi.

On April 20, considered a holiday among pro-pot advocates, Van Pelt and her co-investors sold tickets to a seminar they held on the cannabis industry at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Bronzeville.

Van Pelt also runs Chicago CBD Store, which sells CBD products.

None of these endeavors were included in her most recent statement of economic interest on April 30, which was filed by lawmakers and state employees. However, the state only requires disclosure if her ownership interest in a business was worth more than $5,000 or if she earned more than $1,200 in dividends during the previous 12 months.

State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt (left) and the other founders of WaKanna For Life.
Patricia Van Pelt/Facebook
On Tuesday, a source at the secretary of state’s office confirmed a report by Capitol Fax that the agency’s securities division is investigating Van Pelt’s seminars and her work for Wakanna. Van Pelt said the agency hasn’t reached out to her, her office or Wakanna.

A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office declined to comment or confirm the investigation, citing a policy that restricts employees from discussing matters related to the securities division.

The source said Secretary of State Jesse White, Van Pelt’s longtime political ally, wouldn’t be involved in the probe.

In addition to endorsing Van Pelt as a candidate for the Illinois Senate, White was also recruited by Van Pelt to invest in 5Linx, another multilevel marketing company she previously worked for. In 2016, a spokesman for White told the Better Government Association that he made an initial investment of $249 to join the company but was unimpressed with its products and decided to disassociate himself from it.

The three co-founders of 5Linx were later convicted of federal charges after admitting to defrauding investors out of more than $2 million. Van Pelt, who rose to the position of senior vice president at the company, wasn’t charged in connection with the fraud scheme.

While Van Pelt told the Sun-Times that she wouldn’t be involved in shaping the legalization bill, she has not committed to abstaining from votes on the measure.

“This is work that I do outside my role as state senator like any of my colleagues who practice law, are doctors or engage in other professions,” Van Pelt said. “I can’t see how the courses that I offer as a business or training people on how to invest in stock, is a conflict. If I see a conflict, I would follow the lead of the lawyers that are in the Legislature, I will recuse myself.”

Fellow Democrats said Van Pelt had no involvement in crafting the legislation.

Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, said Van Pelt wasn’t involved in any negotiations with the governor’s office. Abudayyeh noted that Pritzker “believes lawmakers should follow ethical guidelines set forth by their chamber” and that he would consider tacking on ethical restrictions to the bill “to prevent conflicts of interest in the industry.”

Another Chicago Democrat who helped craft the bill, state Sen. Heather Steans, said she wasn’t aware of Van Pelt’s cannabis-related work and hadn’t been in a single meeting with her in which the bill was discussed.

State Rep. Heather Steans (right) and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy were two of the key architects of the cannabis legalization bill.
Sun-Times file photo
“We’re having our attorneys take a look,” Steans said. “I believe strongly in doing stuff ethically the right way, so we’re gonna take a look and see what we should be including in the bill on this.”

Illinois Legislative Inspector General Carol Pope and Laurie Eby, executive director of the Legislative Ethics Commission, declined to comment on the matter, citing confidentiality rules.

Wakanna has laid out plans to expand into a full-scale cannabis operation over the next six years, according to Boston-Atoyebi and the company’s website.

“By 2025 [Wakanna] will operate as a full-service cannabis company that expands from wholesaling and retailing micro-dispensaries to farming and manufacturing,” the site says.

Boston-Atoyebi would not offer further details about the company’s potential expansion, telling the Sun-Times that the plan “is part of our business model and that’s proprietary.”

 

[Baron23]

Weed backers: State Senate passes legal pot bill, sends it to House
With just two days to go before adjournment, the Illinois Senate passed a marijuana legalization measure.

With the clock ticking to adjournment, the Illinois Senate on Wednesday quickly passed a comprehensive measure to allow recreational marijuana use — moving the state one big step closer to legalization.

The Illinois Senate voted 38-17 to approve the legislation after about 40 minutes of debate. It must still pass the Illinois House.

Facing opposition from law enforcement groups and others, bill sponsors scaled back the expungement provisions in the measure and narrowed down home grow for just medical marijuana patients, among other changes.

The clock is winding down to adjournment and legalizing marijuana remains one of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s top priorities. Legislators on Thursday will likely take up the budget and capital bills, as well as a measure that would set the rates on the graduated income tax. It sets the stage for a House debate on legalizing marijuana, potentially, for Friday.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s spokesman Steve Brown said the House will hold a committee hearing and a caucus to review the changes to the legislation.

“I think we’re familiar with the changes. I don’t know that he [Madigan] has any particular concerns. The changes ease some concerns that people have had,” Brown said. “The things you heard the most were home grown, and that’s been toned down, and I think the language dealing with expungement, having a prior conviction issue, has been modified.”

Pritzker in a statement urged the House “to take decisive action to make Illinois a national leader in equity and criminal justice reform.”

“Illinois is poised to become the first state in the nation that put equity and criminal justice reform at the heart of its approach to legalizing cannabis, and I’m grateful that the Senate has taken this important step with a bipartisan vote,” Pritzker said in a statement.

During the Senate debate, state Sen. Dale Righter argued legalization will increase use and has led to more organized crime prosecutions in Colorado.

“More people are going to use and this is going to cause more hazards for the public, not less,” Righter, R-Mattoon, said. But his Republican colleague, state Sen. Jason Barickman, said he now supports the measure, in part because of additions protecting employers. He said it also gives people “more freedom of their choices.”

And bill sponsor state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, said just one state that has legalized marijuana has seen an increase in teen use.

“It’s not something of course that we want teens to do … and the notion that you can prevent teens from doing this by simply ignoring that they currently are is what got us into this place,” Steans said. “This is where we are right now.”

“We can’t pretend that we don’t actually have cannabis smoking going on. We know we do. In Illinois, we estimate that about 800,000 people are using. Burying our heads in the sand about that does not improve the situation or the outcomes on this,” Steans said. “A different approach is going to have a much better outcome.”

State Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said the measure is about much more than being able to buy cannabis.

“The most historic aspect of this is not just that it legalizes cannabis for adults but rather the extraordinary efforts it takes to reduce the harm caused by the failed war on marijuana and the communities it hurt the most,” said Hutchinson, who is also a bill sponsor.

Earlier Wednesday, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee voted 13-3 to approve the latest tweaks to the bill. Changes include allowing only medical marijuana patients to have up to five plants in a home; and scaling back expungements. Convictions dealing with amounts of cannabis up to 30 grams will be dealt with through the governor’s clemency process, which does not require individuals to initiate the process. For amounts of 30 to 500 grams, the state’s attorney or an individual can petition the court to vacate the conviction.

The original language would have automatically expunged an estimated 800,000 convictions. The revised language means those with convictions for cannabis possession convictions under 30 grams can get pardoned by the governor. States attorneys would then be able to petition the court to expunge the record. A judge would direct law enforcement agencies and county clerks to clear their record. This only applies to those convicted with no other violent crime associated with the charge. And it only applies for convictions that have taken place when the bill takes effect on Jan. 1.

“It’s only a one-time look back,” Steans said after committee. “That’s an important point.”

State Sen. Heather Steans urges senators to vote to legalize recreational marijuana on Wednesday, May 29, 2019.
BlueRoomStream screen image.
Designed to address concerns about impaired driving, new language would also add a DUI Task Force led by Illinois State Police to examine best practices. Those would include examining emergency technology and roadside testing, Steans said during the Illinois Senate Executive Committee.

Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell also testified that a social equity loan program was upped to $30 million, from $20 million. He said the expungement changes were made in conjunction with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, other states attorneys and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

Answering senators’ questions about the cannabis bill are, left to right, state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields; state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, and Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, on Wednesday.
BlueRoomStream screen image.
Barickman, R-Bloomington, commended sponsors for going back to the table to set a “gold standard” for workplace standards. New changes also include strengthening language to ensure employers can maintain a zero tolerance drug policy, should legalization happen.

Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, said during the committee that home grow still remains an issue, even if it’s limited to medical marijuana patients since the program is expanding: “We don’t have access. We won’t be able to tell who is doing what.”

New conflict of interest provisions were also added, which would ban lawmakers and their family members, as well as state employees from being able to get a cannabis business license for two years.

The conflict of interest ban was added after it was reported that state Sen. Patricia Van Pelt, D-Chicago, was involved in marketing and investment seminars and leading a company that intended to obtain license to grow and sell marijuana. Van Pelt was removed as a sponsor of the bill on May 15. The Sun-Times reported that Van Pelt and her involvement in the business is being investigated by the Illinois Secretary of State’s office. And while Van Pelt told the Sun-Times that she wouldn’t be involved in shaping the legalization bill, she did not commit to abstaining from votes on the measure.

Van Pelt was not present during the vote.

Opponents of the wide-ranging bill had free rein to voice their displeasure at a lengthy Senate committee hearing in Springfield on May 15 — and they aired concerns about everything from how law enforcement will measure impairment in drivers to which marijuana offenses should be expunged to whether or not weed causes erectile dysfunction.