Law Illinois MMJ

[Baron23]

"State Representative Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat from Chicago Heights, took out a frying pan and an egg during his designated speaking time. As he cracked the egg and flopped it into the pan, he gave the traditional sentiments. "I want to leave an image for you," he said, as he held an egg in the air. "You see this? This is your brain. There it is folks. This is your brain on drugs."
​

And this guy actually gets paid for this asinine and juvenile baloney? Really?

Marijuana legalization approaches final hurdle in Springfield
Since the state Senate voted to approve the bill last night, the more than 600-page measure faces one more big step in the last days of Gov. Pritzker's first legislative session.

Illinois has one more big step on its long journey toward legalizing marijuana use.

After a last round of tinkering, the wide-ranging law passed the Senate last night. The bill moves to the House, where it could be heard today.

“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," said Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who campaigned as a supporter of legalizing recreational marijuana use. "I encourage the House to take decisive action to make Illinois a national leader in equity and criminal justice reform.”

After a 38-17 vote in the Senate, Rep. Kelly Cassidy, one of the bills authors, said she feels good about its prospects.

The 610-page bill tackles a number of thorny issues, including provisions to expunge past arrests and convictions, and ways to help impoverished and minority communities recover from some of the effects of the war on drugs and get a shot at profiting from the legal marijuana business.

“We know prohibition is not working. We want social justice, safety for our kids and the state to realize additional revenue,” Sen. Heather Steans, another co-author of the legislation, said during a committee hearing before the full Senate voted on the bill.

Legalizing marijuana use is expected to create an industry with $1 billion to $2 billion in annual sales. The state ultimately expects up to $500 million a year in tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales, according to estimates.

The bill, which had languished for weeks, was called for a vote in the Senate only after sponsors made changes that opponents had sought. It limited a home-grow provision, which had been opposed by law enforcement, to medical use. Lawmakers added language to address concerns around how police will ultimately deal with cannabis in enforcing DUI laws.

There also were changes to procedures around expungement of criminal records for minor marijuana possession, a key provision among Democratic lawmakers but one that drew opposition from law enforcement. The governor would issue pardons for most offenses, but state’s attorneys would be able to challenge expungement in some cases.

Perhaps the most important change involved businesses, allowing them to maintain workplace policies that prohibit drug use, which was cited by Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, in deciding to drop his opposition and vote for the law. He also said legalization would increase personal freedom.

“Six months ago, we were very opposed," Todd Maisch, CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, said during the committee hearing in the Senate yesterday. "Our board, after a lot of deliberation, we aren’t excited, but we're not opposed. We believe—with the exception of one concern over random drug testing, which will get worked out . . . these are the strongest workplace protections in the nation."

Illinois is attempting to become the first state of nearly a dozen that have authorized recreational marijuana to set up the framework for legalization by legislation, rather than having bureaucrats create the rules after voters approve a referendum. It's hard to pull off. Legislative efforts in New York and New Jersey have sputtered.


Illinois lawmaker uses egg and frying pan to demonstrate his feelings on recreational marijuana

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois -- As lawmakers in Illinois discussed a bill pushing to legalize recreational marijuana, one representative offered a classic visual to show what he thought about the bill.

State Representative Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat from Chicago Heights, took out a frying pan and an egg during his designated speaking time. As he cracked the egg and flopped it into the pan, he gave the traditional sentiments.

"I want to leave an image for you," he said, as he held an egg in the air. "You see this? This is your brain. There it is folks. This is your brain on drugs."

His demonstration was met with some laughter and applause, but the remarks that followed were the opposite.

Representative Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield called the demonstration "nonsense" and said it was a waste of eggs "that should have been used to make a souffle or something instead of making a ridiculous point that was outdated for 30 years."

He went on to ask the bill's lead sponsor, Representative Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat from Chicago, to talk about public education.

Cassidy said their goal from the beginning was to reduce youth access.

"Teens and young adults are capable of making good decisions when provided with good information," she said. "The idea that we expect our kids to ace the AP bio exam but think that putting an egg in a frying pan is going too tel them what it means to take a substance into their body is ludicrous."

She said they had created a Public Health Advisory Task Force and said they had been and would continue to monitor studies from other states who have taken on legal marijuana.

Lawmakers may take a vote on Friday, May 31, which is the last day of the spring legislative session. If the bill is passed, Illinois would be the 11th state in the union to legalize recreational marijuana. The drug would be available to adults 21 and older; adults would be allowed to possess up to one ounce of marijuana at a time.

 

[Baron23]

ITS A DONE DEAL

In landmark move, Illinois lawmakers approve adult-use cannabis program that could hit $2 billion in sales

Illinois on Friday became the country’s first state to legalize recreational marijuana cultivation and sales through its Legislature, a landmark move that paves the way for the creation of one of the nation’s largest adult-use cannabis markets offering “huge” business opportunities.

Marijuana Business Daily projects the Illinois rec market potentially will eclipse $2 billion in annual sales a few years after the program launches in early 2020, possibly reaching $2.5 billion a year depending on the number of tourists who make purchases.

The state is now poised to become the second in the Midwest to legalize recreational marijuana, after Michigan, whose voters passed a referendum last November.

Illinois will become the 11th state plus Washington DC to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Illinois House gave final approval to the legalization measure on Friday in a 66-47 vote, after the state Senate passed an amended version by a 38-17 margin on Wednesday night.

The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, who tweeted his intention to sign it into law.

“But the biggest benefits go to the incumbent medical marijuana operators,” Krane noted, referring to the state’s 50-plus licensees.

“It doesn’t have the robust licensing structure that we have in some western states.”

It could take longer to realize the annual revenue projections because of the relatively severe constraints on the number of rec stores in the state.

Existing dispensaries gain an edge

The measure would give early approval to the state’s existing MMJ dispensaries, allowing them to begin adult-use sales on Jan. 1, 2020.

Dozens of stores, processing and cultivation licenses would be issued in two rounds beginning in mid-2020, with cultivation licenses focused on “craft” growers. There also are transport and testing opportunities.
MJBizDaily calculates that up to 295 stores could be in operation by 2022, or 2.3 stores for every 100,000 residents. By contrast, Colorado has about 10 rec stores for every 100,000 residents.

A 10% tax would apply to cannabis flower or products with less than 35% THC, and a 20% tax would apply to products infused with cannabis, such as edible products. A 25% tax would apply to any product with a THC concentration higher than 35%.

Pritzker has put a priority on recreational marijuana legalization, and the current measure in large part is a reflection of the new administration’s plan unveiled earlier this month.

“We worked with the bill sponsors and governor’s office to ensure that this landmark bill opens up new opportunities for businesses,” Steven Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement to MJBizDaily.

Hawkins noted that the Illinois bill also provides significant social-equity resources for communities hardest hit by the war on drugs and that the measure can be a standard for similar efforts in other states.

Vermont is the only other state to legalize adult-use through its Legislature, but that measure was limited to home grow and use and doesn’t have a commercial sales and taxation program.

Significant move

“It’s no small feat to be the first state to do something like this through the state legislature,” Krane said, adding that Illinois is likely to be just the “first domino to fall.”

Krane noted that Illinois” existing operators are going to get a “nice reward” after “taking a beating for years” in the state’s small and unfriendly medical marijuana market.

Michael Mayes, CEO of Quantum 9, a Chicago-based cannabis consulting firm, said he doesn’t fault the state for giving priority to existing MMJ operators, especially because they’ve already been vetted.

Mayes characterized the state’s business opportunities as “strong” and said his firm has received a “ridiculous amount of inquiries – over 2,000” since the governor announced the rec MJ plan in early May.

The inquiries, Mayes said, “run the full gamut from publicly traded companies to small craft growers.”

While there is an emphasis on small growers and social-equity applicants, Mayes said there’s also going to be a preference toward applicants that can demonstrate financial strength, such as access to two years of operating capital.

Here are some details from the Illinois measure:

• Existing medical marijuana license holders would get an early start and could begin adult-use sales on Jan. 1, 2020. They also each could open an additional store. Assuming all 55 licensees take advantage of that provision, 110 stores could be selling rec cannabis by early 2020.
• In the first licensing round, the state would award permits for up to 75 stores (May 1, 2020), 40 processors (July 1, 2020) and 40 craft growers (July 1, 2020).
• In a second wave in December 2021, the state could issue licenses for an additional 110 stores, 60 craft growers and 60 processors.
• A third licensing wave is possible dependent on a market supply-and-demand analysis.
• Municipalities can opt out of rec MJ – although Chicago is expected to be open and welcoming.
• Applicants that fall under “social equity” provisions receive additional points and potential financial resources.
• No entity or individual can hold an interest in more than three cultivation centers or 10 stores. There would be a limit of one craft grower per entity until the completion of a market study.
• An adult could possess and purchase up to 30 grams of cannabis.

 

[Baron23]

Here’s when marijuana will be legal in Illinois, and answers to other burning questions about recreational weed

Marking a historic moment in an expanding national movement, Illinois lawmakers Friday approved recreational marijuana legalization.

After a contentious debate in Springfield — during which one lawmaker even cracked eggs into a frying pan to depict the “brain on drugs” — the House of Representatives voted 66-47 to allow possession and sales beginning Jan. 1, 2020. The Senate had approved the measure earlier in the week.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to sign the bill into law, which would make Illinois the 11th state to legalize cannabis and the first state in which a legislature approved commercial sales. Vermont lawmakers legalized possession, but not yet commercial sales. Approval in other states came via referendum.

Legalizing marijuana: How did your legislators vote? »

Opponents warned of more addiction, mental impairment, and drugged-driving deaths, while proponents spoke of a need to end a failed war on drugs, which has disproportionately hurt minorities.

Legalizing marijuana is expected to generate revenue in the coming budget year to help restore poverty- and crime-ridden communities and fund substance abuse, mental health and law enforcement services, supporters say.

“This will have a transformational impact on our state, creating opportunity in the communities that need it most and giving so many a second chance,” Pritzker said in a statement.

As detailed in the 610-page bill, cannabis is meant to be taxed and regulated similarly to alcohol, with a lot of rules affecting its use.

The legislature’s actions raised a number of questions throughout the state about the soon-to-be new law. Here are the answers to some of them:

Who can grow and sell it?
Only the 20 existing licensed medical marijuana cultivation facilities will be licensed to grow it initially. Next year, craft growers may apply for licenses to cultivate up to 5,000 square feet, with preference given to applicants from minority areas disproportionately affected by the war on drugs, such as the South and West sides of Chicago. Medical marijuana dispensaries and new retail stores will be licensed to sell it. Medical cannabis patients will be allowed to grow up to five plants each at home.

Who can buy what?
Illinois residents age 21 and over may possess up to 30 grams or about 1 ounce of flower (roughly as much as an adult can hold in cupped hands), 5 grams of cannabis concentrate, or 500 milligrams of THC — the chemical that gets users high — in a cannabis-infused product such as gummies and other candy, tinctures and lotions. Adult visitors to the state may possess up to 15 grams of marijuana.

Who can ban it?
Municipalities and counties may ban cannabis businesses within their boundaries, but may not ban individual possession. Any person, business or landlord may prohibit use on private property. Colleges and universities may continue to prohibit marijuana use.

Where is consumption prohibited?
In any public place like on the street or in a park, on school grounds (except for medical users), in any motor vehicle, in a correctional facility, near someone under 21, while driving a boat or flying a plane, or by a school bus driver, police, fire or corrections officer while on duty. It’s OK to use it at home, as long as outsiders can’t see it.

Will employers still test for marijuana once recreational use is legal in Illinois? Don't keep a pipe at your desk just yet. »

How does it affect criminal records?
The governor will pardon past convictions for possession of up to 30 grams, with the attorney general going to court to expunge or delete public records of a conviction or arrest. For possession of 30 to 500 grams, an individual or a state’s attorney may petition the court to vacate and expunge the conviction, but prosecutors may object, with a judge to make the decision.

How is it taxed?
Sales will be taxed at 10 percent for THC levels at or less than 35 percent; 20 percent for cannabis-infused products such as edibles; and 25 percent for THC concentrations of more than 35%. That’s in addition to standard state and local sales taxes. Municipalities may add special taxes of up to 3%, counties may add up to 3.75% in unincorporated areas, and Cook County may add up to 3% in municipalities.

How do federal laws affect Illinois’ law?
The drug remains federally illegal, but federal law enforcement typically has not prosecuted possession of small amounts, or businesses complying with state programs.

How did my legislators vote on the bill?
Click here to look it up.

 

[momofthegoons]

There is a map of the Illinois dispensaries in the article that could not be embedded. Follow link it title to view...

Recreational marijuana goes on sale Jan. 1 in Illinois. Dispensaries are already getting ready.


Products are put on display Jan 16, 2017, before store hours at Dispensary 33 in Chicago. The state’s 55 medical dispensaries can apply to sell recreational marijuana, and many already are preparing for an influx of new customers. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

Recreational marijuana is just a signature away from being legal in Illinois, and dispensaries are staffing up, remodeling, and wasting no time preparing for new foot traffic.

Illinois lawmakers approved a bill Friday that, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s promised signature, will allow the state’s 55 medical dispensaries to apply to sell recreational marijuana. Additionally, the dispensaries can apply to open a second location. That means more than 100 dispensaries could be selling marijuana by the beginning of next year.

Dispensaries are renovating their spaces and streamlining their processes to serve more customers. Operators say that by the time recreational marijuana goes on sale Jan. 1, their spaces will be big and efficient enough to handle the crowds of customers. They are looking at technology that can add efficiency, like the software restaurants use to text diners when their table is ready, and systems that let customers preorder their marijuana. The order would be ready when the customer arrives, just like a restaurant can prepare a meal for pickup.

At the same time, dispensaries must prepare for a growing number of Illinois medical cannabis patients.

Dispensary 33 in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood got a glimpse of what recreational sales volume could be like on April 20, when a festival celebrating marijuana was held outside the dispensary and patients flocked to the store for deals.

“We’re going to have to staff up because now you’re going to have to perform like 4/20 almost every day,” said general manager Paul Lee. “This is a different game. This is recreational. … Now you’re including everybody.”

Mission Chicago South Shore Medical Marijuana Dispensary, one of the few dispensaries on the South Side, is building a classroom to be used for marijuana education, adding registers and planning to double employee count to 20 by year’s end, said general manager Rick Armstrong. It’s also changing the shop’s setup to be more self-serve, arranging the products by type — topicals in one section, edibles in another. Customers will come in and see cards describing each product, like in a wine shop, and take that card up to the register for checkout.

Consultants will be taking orders on iPads, or customers can preorder online. All the different shopping methods will help Mission control the flow of customers, Armstrong said. It’s also changing its exterior look.

“As we speak, we’re painting a mural on the outside of our building,” Armstrong said. “We’re branding so people can see we are a dispensary.”

Dispensary 33 is also redoing its interior to make room for displaying more cannabis products, and is looking for space to open a second location. Marijuana company Ascend Illinois has dispensaries in Springfield and Collinsville, and plans to apply to open two more under the upcoming law, said CEO Chris Stone.

“We’ve located specific sites that we will be adding a recreational license to and looking to open up on Jan. 1 when it becomes legal,” he said.

Ascend Illinois employs 54 people between its two dispensaries, and Stone said he expects that to grow. The company has already been working to staff up and expand the inside of its facilities in anticipation of growth in the medical cannabis program that is not expected to slow down.

Lawmakers approved a bill Sunday that would make the state’s medical marijuana program permanent and expand it. The measure, which still awaits Pritzker’s signature, would add broader qualifying conditions such as chronic pain, autism and irritable bowel syndrome. Advocates have been working for years to expand the state’s medical program past its previous 40 or so qualifying conditions.

“It feels as though we finally delivered on the promise to the patients,” said Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Deerfield, sponsor of the legislation. “I don’t know how else to say it without getting emotional.”

The program has added more than 12,500 patients since February, when the state dropped fingerprint and background check requirements for patients, allowed people prescribed opioids to access medical marijuana, and started granting provisional access while medical card applications are reviewed.

Almost 67,000 patients were enrolled in the program at the state’s last count in early May. At maturity, medical cannabis programs typically reach about 1 to 2 percent of a state’s population. In Illinois, that’s 128,000 to 256,000 people. With chronic pain and additional conditions, some expect that could increase by additional percentage points.

The recreational marijuana bill would ensure that patients enrolled in Illinois’ medical cannabis program take priority over recreational customers if there is ever a shortage of pot products.

After recreational marijuana goes on sale at the medical dispensaries and their second locations, the state can eventually license nearly 200 additional stores and assess demand from there.

 

[ataxian]

It continues to blow my mind that these politicians of ours, elected in a democracy, just don't get that the electorate doesn't give a shit what the politicians want, but they very much want and expect their politicians to give a shit about what the electorate wants.... and in this case:

"According to a poll from the Southern Illinois University, 74.4 percent of Illinois citizens support the legalization of recreational marijuana. Only 21 percent oppose the measure."​

Illinois governor vows to veto all recreational marijuana legislation

In a recent interview with the Ford County Record, a newspaper in Paxton, Illinois, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner said that he would veto a recreational marijuana bill if one were to be passed by the Legislature. Rauner has served as the Governor of Illinois since January of 2015.

Currently, the state of Illinois is ramping up for a gubernatorial election, with primary elections taking place on March 20th and the general election on November 6th. Rauner has announced that he will be running for re-election, and will go head-to-head with Representative Jeanne Ives for the Republican primary.

Both Republican candidates have opposed recreational marijuana legalization in the past. All of the Democratic candidates, on the other hand, support the recreational legalization of marijuana. The Democratic candidates include: Senator Daniel Biss, businessman and Kennedy family member Chris Kennedy, Billionaire venture capitalist J.B. Pritzker, public official and regional school superintendent Bob Daiber, criminal justice professor Tio Hardiman, and physician Robert Marshall.

“Medical marijuana was approved before I became governor…I think there are some appropriate medical uses for that and we’re monitoring it,” said Rauner in his interview with the Ford County Record. “Recreational marijuana, just for personal use, I think is a huge experiment. We don’t know. And the drug has changed—marijuana has changed a tremendous amount over the last 30-40 years. It’s very, very potent. We don’t know how it impacts the developing brain. We don’t know what it does to pregnant women. We don’t know a lot of things.”

Governor of Illinois Bruce Rauner speaks to members of the media in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after a hearing on February 26, 2018 in Washington, DC. The court is hearing the case, Janus v. AFSCME, to determine whether states violate their employees’ First Amendment rights to require them to join public sector unions which they may not want to associate with.

The Democratic candidates challenging Rauner argue that legalizing recreational marijuana would make economic sense, yielding tax revenue and helping alleviate the state’s $9 billion in unpaid bills.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana is currently legal for adult use, the industry produced over $506 million in taxes and fees for the state between 2014 and July of 2017.

Democratic candidates, like Pritzker and Kennedy, have also expressed a desire to commute sentences for those who are currently incarcerated on marijuana charges. According to the most recent analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2010, Illinois is among the top 12 states with the highest rates of arrest for marijuana possession.

The state also has one of the strictest medical marijuana programs. Former governor Pat Quinn implemented a pilot program for medical marijuana, but it didn’t go into effect until Rauner assumed office in 2015. It’s set to expire in 2020. The only patients eligible for cards are those with “debilitating conditions” such as HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

A referendum to ask Illinois voters if they support recreational marijuana on the November ballot is currently moving through the state’s legislature. If it gets on the ballot, it won’t make recreational marijuana legal in the state, but it could put pressure on lawmakers to legalize it themselves. According to a poll from the Southern Illinois University, 74.4 percent of Illinois citizens support the legalization of recreational marijuana. Only 21 percent oppose the measure.

Let da people choose what is best 4-them?

 

[CarolKing]

Marijuana users, and there's a wide variety of them
Joline Rivera, founder of Kitchen Toke, adds CBD olive oil to a spinach, kale and strawberry smoothie as part of her routine at her home in Chicago on June 7, 2019. Rivera, a registered medical marijuana
Joline Rivera, founder of Kitchen Toke, adds CBD olive oil to a spinach, kale and strawberry smoothie as part of her routine at her home in Chicago on June 7, 2019. Rivera, a registered medical marijuana patient, said she uses cannabis in her own cooking every day. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune.

One other trend to expect is that of infused beverages. Edibles are popular because many people don’t like to smoke, but Kagia noted that the problem with edibles is that they take a long time to kick in, and by then a user may have taken too much and stays too high for too long.

So businesses are trying to put THC, the part of the pot plant that gets people high, and CBD, the non-psychoactive component credited for a variety of health effects, into beverages that will take effect in less than 10 minutes, similar to alcohol, so people can control their dosing more carefully.

As a member of a Chicago-area coalition called Moms for Marijuana, Eidenberg, of Wilmette, and her friends lobbied for legalization of the drug to make it safer to use, to improve social justice and generate tax revenue. Once marijuana becomes legal under Illinois state law on Jan. 1, 2020, she wonders how people will use it in social settings.

“Are we going to go to barbecues in the backyard where people are smoking?” she asked. “Who’s going to feel comfortable with it in front of their kids? We’ll see people getting stoned and hanging out. I feel like we’re going to start having new norms.”

Faced with normalization of a product that’s been federally prohibited for decades, people will have to work out how to handle legal marijuana among friends and family. Consuming pot in public will remain against the law, but consuming in private will be allowed if the property owner permits it and it’s out of sight from the neighbors. So who will be smoking pot once it’s legal, and when? The answer relates largely to demographics and circumstances.

 

[Baron23]

"An eighth of an ounce, or 3.5 grams, currently runs medical patients about $37.50, Budzu says. However, Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the price can be as high as $60 at some Illinois clinics.

Linn, who also serves as the general manager of two Maribis dispensaries in Chicago and Springfield, said an eighth of recreational pot could end up costing more than that, noting that the inflated price points will likely be more than what illegal bud dealers charge."​

Yes, yes, yes....and clearly nobody involved in determining fees and taxation every possibly looked at shining examples, like CA, of how to keep an illegal black market viable by over pricing legal MJ. sigh

What’s legal weed gonna cost in Illinois? A lot
Both taxes and an expected supply shortage could result in pricy recreational pot products when the drug is fully legalized in Illinois at the start of next year.

The price of a legal high is likely gonna cost you.

Both taxes and an expected supply shortage could result in pricy recreational pot products when the drug is fully legalized in Illinois at the start of next year.

According to Budzu, a crowdsourcing site that tracks the price of marijuana, a gram of pot currently costs between $15 and $20 at medical dispensaries in Chicago. One gram can typically be used to roll up to three joints.

An eighth of an ounce, or 3.5 grams, currently runs medical patients about $37.50, Budzu says. However, Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the price can be as high as $60 at some Illinois clinics.

Linn, who also serves as the general manager of two Maribis dispensaries in Chicago and Springfield, said an eighth of recreational pot could end up costing more than that, noting that the inflated price points will likely be more than what illegal bud dealers charge.

“Consumers who already have access will probably decide to continue to purchase it illegally above that $60 amount,” Linn told the Sun-Times. “But I think the tourists and out of staters will purchase it, as well as people who are just happy to be able to legally purchase cannabis for the first time in their life in Illinois.”

Those medical prices could eventually be close to what people pay for legal weed. Bethany Gomez — managing director of the Loop-based Brightfield Group, which researches the cannabis and CBD industry — said the markets for medical and recreational pot often “don’t look that different” and they can sometimes coalesce.

That’s already happened in Washington, which was found to have the cheapest weed in a recent study of four states that have legalized the drug for adult use.

No more nickel-and-diming

In 2012, when Washington became the first of 10 states to legalize recreational pot, it cost as much as $30 a gram, according to the study published in March by the cannabis data firm Headset.

Now, the state’s unified pot market is “home of the lowest prices in legal cannabis,” with pot products including flower, vapor pens, concentrates, pre-rolled joints, edibles, beverages, capsules, tinctures and topicals generally averaging lower prices than the same products in three other states, the report states.

The study found that Colorado had the cheapest grams of cannabis flower, at $4.60, while Washingtonians could purchase the same amount for just 30 cents more. In the states that have more recently legalized recreational pot, California and Nevada, grams of pot cost $11.60 and $13.70, respectively.

Prices for vapor pens with THC ranged from $36 in Washington to $96 in Nevada.

“Competition plays a major part, both within the legal cannabis industry, and from the black market. So does regulation,” says the study. “ ... Prices are very locally specific.”

Source: Headset
Gomez said the national prohibition on pot is to blame for the divergent price points across states.

“You can only use what is cultivated within the state, so there is certainly higher pricing when there’s a supply shortage,” she said. “As capacity ramps up, if theres an oversupply, then there’s a depression in pricing.”

When that happened last year in Oregon, some dispensaries sitting on a glut of weed began selling grams for as low as $4.

Depleted stash?

A February study commissioned by lawmakers and conducted by the Colorado consulting firm Freedman & Koski warned that Illinois’ 20 licensed cultivations centers couldn’t meet the state’s demand for recreational pot, which could reach up to 550,000 pounds a year. The expected shortage will likely help drive prices up.

Despite the state’s plans to eventually issue more licenses, both Linn and Gomez said a supply shortage is all but inevitable when sales kick off on Jan. 1.

“It happens in every single state. When the markets first come online, there’s a severe supply shortage,” said Gomez.

Some dispensaries like Maribis may be forced to cap the amount of recreational pot patrons can buy during a single visit, Linn said. The dispensaries will be required to keep a stockpile of medical marijuana for patients, though.


In this Storystream
Marijuana legalization in Illinois: How did we get here, and what’s next?

• What’s legal weed gonna cost in Illinois? A lot
• Want to work in the legal pot industry? Here’s who’s hiring right now

View all 13 stories
Next Up In Cannabis

• He was 30 years ahead of his time on legalizing marijuana
• Want to work in the legal pot industry? Here’s who’s hiring right now
• Black entrepreneurs fear pot bill unfairly benefits current sellers, leaves others with just ‘a few crumbs’
• Here's where you will (likely) be able to buy legal weed in the Chicago area Jan. 1
• When can I buy pot in Illinois? How much can I buy? Your questions answered
• High time? Pritzker vows to sign legal recreational pot bill heading to his desk

 

[momofthegoons]

There's a somewhat interesting, 5 minute, video newscast regarding this that could not be embedded. Follow title link to view.

Pritzker Expected to Sign Marijuana Legalization Bill Next Week

Recreational marijuana is all but a done deal in Illinois. Late last month, Illinois became the first state in the nation to approve such a measure via a legislative body, rather than a referendum.

But on Tuesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to make it final.

Multiple sources tell WTTW News that the governor, who campaigned on legalizing recreational adult use cannabis, is scheduled to sign that law June 25.

Legal weed is still about six months away, as the law won’t actually take effect until Jan. 1, 2020.

By then, the 55 operational dispensaries that cater to medical marijuana patients (state law authorizes 60 medical marijuana dispensary licenses) should be ready to open their doors to a wider customer base.

Until now, Illinois’ strict rules prevented members of the public, including the media, from going past reception areas in those dispensaries.

But WTTW cameras were briefly permitted to tour one of them on Thursday: FloraMedex in Elmwood Park.

 

[Baron23]

The Latest: Illinois 11th to legalize recreational marijuana

Gov. J. B. Pritzker takes in the applause before signing a bill Tuesday, June 25, 2019 that legalizes adult-use cannabis in the state of Illinois at Sankofa Cultural Arts and Business Center in Chicago. Illinois becomes the 11th to legalize the adult-use of recreational marijuana. (AP Photo/Amr Alfiky)

CHICAGO (AP) — The Latest on recreational marijuana legalization in Illinois (all times local):

10:30 a.m.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation making Illinois the 11th state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Democrat signed legislation Tuesday in Chicago allowing residents to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce (30 grams) of marijuana at a time. Non-residents could have up to 15 grams.

Illinois joins 10 other states and the District of Columbia in allowing recreational use. It’s been essentially illegal for the past 80 years and since 1970 has been federally banned as a narcotic.

But Pritzker made legalization a main tenet of his campaign for governor last fall.

Nearly two dozen states have pursued legalization in the past two years. Efforts in New York and New Jersey fizzled this spring. Pennsylvania officials proposed it but it never got off the ground.

The law would allow residents to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce (30 grams) of usable marijuana at a time. Nonresidents could have 15 grams. Up to five privately home-grown plants would be allowed for personal use, but only for patients approved for the existing medical marijuana program.

Ten states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. Legislation to legalize it in New York and New Jersey this spring fizzled. Discussions in Pennsylvania never got off the ground.

Pritzker, a Democrat, campaigned on legalization.

Illinois just legalized marijuana
Illinois is the 11th state to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.

Illinois just became the 11th state to legalize marijuana — and the first where the legislature legalized selling the drug.

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who advocated for legalization in his 2018 campaign, signed a marijuana legalization bill on Tuesday. The legislature had sent the bill to him in May.

Illinois’s marijuana legalization law will allow recreational possession and sales starting on January 1, 2020, creating a new system of taxes and regulations. Adults 21 and older will be allowed to possess and buy cannabis, although tourists in Illinois will be allowed to buy less than state residents. Cities and counties may prohibit sales, but not possession, within their borders. Personal growing will only be fully legal for medical use. Previous low-level convictions and arrests for marijuana will be pardoned and expunged.

The law will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

The state previously allowed marijuana for medical purposes.

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, with federal law classifying cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance with no medical value and a high potential for misuse. But the federal government has generally taken a hands-off approach toward state laws loosening access to the drug.

Ten other states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana. But Vermont (which also legalized through its legislature) and DC have not yet allowed sales. Besides Vermont and now Illinois, states have legalized through ballot initiatives.

Several other states, including New York and New Jersey, have considered legalization in their legislatures this year, but the proposals have so far failed to pass despite support from the governors in those states.

Supporters of legalization argue that it eliminates the harms of marijuana prohibition: the hundreds of thousands of arrests around the US, the racial disparities behind those arrests, and the billions of dollars that flow from the black market for illicit marijuana to drug cartels that then use the money for violent operations around the world. All of this, legalization advocates say, will outweigh any of the potential downsides — such as increased cannabis use — that might come with legalization.

Opponents, meanwhile, claim that legalization will enable a huge marijuana industry that will market the drug irresponsibly. They point to America’s experiences with the alcohol and tobacco industries in particular, which have built their financial empires in large part on some of the heaviest consumers of their products. This could result in far more people using pot, even if it leads to negative health consequences.

At least in Illinois, supporters of legalization have won.

 

[Marlon Rando]

Weed cafes in Illinois?
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/6...ois-cannabis-smoking-ban-smoke-free-exemption

 

[Baron23]

Medical marijuana users will get dibs if supply wanes, but evidence from other states indicates some may turn to recreational pot once it is legal in Illinois

Illinois’ new recreational cannabis program calls for dispensaries to prioritize medical patients in the event of a marijuana shortage, addressing a concern that has cropped up in other states that have seen a high demand when recreational sales start.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker last Tuesday signed a measure that opens up marijuana to recreational use. Still on his desk is a bill passed by state lawmakers that makes the state’s medical marijuana pilot program permanent and also opens it up to an array of new qualifying conditions including autism, chronic pain and anorexia nervosa.

That bill, along with the protections for medical users that are part of the recreational pot bill, makes Illinois’ medical marijuana program "one of the stronger ones in the country,” said David Mangone, director of government affairs for Americans for Safe Access, which advocates for legal cannabis for therapeutic use and research.

The experience of the 10 states that have previously legalized recreational marijuana has shown that increased demand from recreational users can create supply issues for existing medical users. In addition, some of those states saw their medical cannabis program participation rates drop steeply as some medical users see no value in maintaining their medical card status and turn to recreational pot.

Medical users have at times struggled to find the particular marijuana product they use as the industry shifts to the forms of pot that have wider recreational appeal, Mangone said.

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More than 70,000 people are currently participating in the Illinois medical marijuana program, which has been operating as a pilot since 2014 and was due to end next year.

The main goal behind the bill that makes permanent and expands medical cannabis is providing “stability” for the program and to prioritize medical patients, those who rely on cannabis to manage pain or other symptoms from a range of medical conditions, in the event of a demand issue, said bill sponsor Rep. Bob Morgan, a Deerfield Democrat.

In other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, the medical programs have suffered, Morgan said.

“A number of states have had shortages. There was a real recognition that this needs to be slowly expanding — businesses, licenses, cultivators,” Morgan said. “As we ramp up to Jan. 1, 2020, there is a very real possibility of a shortage.”

The adult-use recreational law that takes effect Jan. 1 calls for dispensing organizations that hold medical cannabis licenses issued under the medical pilot program to maintain “an adequate supply of cannabis and cannabis-infused products for purchase by qualifying patients and caregivers.”

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An adequate supply is defined as an amount comparable to the average monthly inventory for the six months leading up to the January effective date of the recreational law.

If there’s a shortage of cannabis or cannabis-infused products, a dispensary that has dual medical and recreational licenses “shall prioritize serving qualifying patients and caregivers before serving purchasers,” the recreational legislation states.

In Alaska, participation in the medical pot program decreased by nearly two-thirds when recreational use was legalized. Participation also dropped in Washington, where the medical and recreational programs were combined, a move that has since faced pushback from lawmakers and through citizen initiatives, Mangone said.

Illinois will likely see a drop-off in medical marijuana use, but Mangone said he doesn’t anticipate it being as significant as in some other states, in part because the laws here afford medical users some privileges recreational users won’t have.

“I think the intent in Illinois is to maintain a strong medical program and continue to serve the patients that it currently serves, as well as welcoming new patients,” Mangone said.

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Under the medical cannabis pilot program in Illinois, qualifying patients pay a $100 fee for a one-year registry card, $200 for a two-year card or $250 for a three-year card. Those fees can be reduced for veterans and those on disability.

When recreational use becomes available, some medical users no longer find their cardholder fees worthwhile, or find easier access to cannabis outside of the medical program, Mangone said.

Even in states like Nevada, which saw a steep participation drop-off in the medical marijuana program after recreational sales began in 2017 — close to 40 percent — the medical program remains viable, Mangone said.

“There are a lot of producers who got into this industry from a compassionate care angle, and they want to stay in the medical space and don’t have any interest in moving into the adult-use model,” Mangone said.

Illinois’ medical marijuana bill allows participants to grow their own cannabis. An earlier bill proposal included a limited allowance for home grow for recreational users, too, but that became a sticking point in the debate and was ultimately removed by the bill sponsors to garner broader support for the measure. Certified medical marijuana patients will be able to grow up to five plants at home.

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“I think Illinois did this the right way,” Mangone said. “It still really incentivizes patients who need to participate in this program with the appropriate incentives.”

It also provides an opportunity for people in the state who would have qualified for the pilot program under statute, but have been unable to access medical cannabis because of cost, a doctor who refused to prescribe or some other factor.

“Anybody who’s really suffering should not be prohibited access to this product,” Morgan said.

Rep. Celina Villanueva’s mother was diagnosed with cancer last August. Her mother, who is undergoing chemotherapy, expressed interest in using medical cannabis for pain management, but hasn’t been able to participate because she wasn’t able to find a doctor at the facility where she receives treatment to sign off, Villanueva said.

“She’s one of many people throughout this state and one of many people throughout this country that could not find relief within the cannabis program,” said Villanueva, one of the sponsors of the recreational cannabis bill. “And that’s something that I carry with me every single day. I did this for her. And for those people that unfortunately fall outside of that program that don’t want to be on opioids in order to help the symptoms of their diseases.”

 

[Baron23]

This has to be nipped in the bud.....otherwise, IL is just going to reinforce the black market which will, IMO, boom after legalization if the legal market is not competitive.

As Illinois determines whether to limit potency of legalized pot, drug gets increased scrutiny after link to psychosis

As Illinois prepares to legalize marijuana next year, one key aspect of public health that regulators will consider is whether and how to limit the amount of THC — the chief component of cannabis that determines how high users get.

The new law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker last month to legalize sales Jan. 1 states that the Department of Agriculture will oversee cannabis growers, including “establishing limits on potency or serving size.”

While the vast majority of adult marijuana users consume it without incident, advocates say, the link between THC potency and psychosis has generated increased concern recently among psychiatrists and researchers. Multiple studies have shown a persistent association between marijuana use and psychosis, including schizophrenia, with symptoms such as paranoia and hallucinations.

In March, a study in the British medical journal Lancet went further, and found that daily cannabis use was associated with increased first episodes of a psychotic disorder. The association was even more pronounced for stronger marijuana, with higher levels of THC. A 2018 study in the Netherlands also found that when potency went up, more people sought drug treatment, and when potency fell, so did the number of patients.

The data fit many of the tests for causality, researchers say, but doesn’t prove that cannabis causes psychosis. Some researchers suspect instead that people predisposed to psychosis may be more likely to use cannabis. But as the Yale University authors of a comprehensive research review put it, “… cannabis may be a component cause in the emergence of psychosis, and this warrants serious consideration from the point of view of public health policy.”

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In response to such findings, the Illinois State Medical Society is calling for per-serving limits on THC, strong warning labels, and a ban on claims of health benefits from cannabis. The society was involved in getting public health precautions written into marijuana legalization, and members hope to be involved in drawing up further regulations.

Medical Society President Paul Pedersen said he’s heard from psychiatrists in the state that there has been a noticeable increase of youths coming into emergency departments with acute psychosis from marijuana in the past few years. He supported THC limits, saying, “It would be better to err on the side of being conservative.”

Marijuana potency — measured by the percentage of THC by weight in the total amount of marijuana consumed — has risen in recent decades. The average strength of stronger strains of confiscated pot doubled from about 8 percent in the early 1990s to 16% by 2013, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Efforts have been made to limit THC in other states. In Florida this spring, lawmakers tried but failed to limit the strength of marijuana flower to 10% THC. In Colorado in 2016, advocates pushed for a referendum to limit THC to 16%, but ultimately withdrew the plan. Medical marijuana laws in some states only allow low-THC products.

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Industry officials argued that the limits would have eliminated most of their products, and would only push demand to the black market, costing jobs and tax revenue.

The Illinois medical marijuana program, operating since 2015, simply limits the amount of THC in edibles, so that a candy bar contains a maximum of 100 milligrams of THC, and is scored into servings of 10 milligrams each.

Cannabis continues to get stronger since legalization. Colorado reported that the average amount of THC in legal marijuana flower there rose from about 16% in 2014 to 20% in 2017.

The products generating the most concern are concentrates — in which solvents are used to extract THC into waxlike substances — which are far stronger, and can exceed 80% THC.

In Massachusetts, which recently legalized cannabis, a group of doctors and scientists recently called for strict THC potency limits and warnings on packages to include “increased risk of serious mental illness including psychosis, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, and depression.” The group also advocates tracking marijuana transactions to limit how much someone may buy.

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But trying to regulate THC percentage is misguided, in the view of Jeremy Unruh, director of public and regulatory affairs for PharmaCann, a multistate cannabis business based in Chicago.

People who use high-THC concentrates are generally experienced users, he said. Smokers feel the effects within minutes, so if it’s stronger pot, they simply smoke less. Most overdoses of cannabis, he believes, are due to new users who eat too much.

In states with legal cannabis, such as Colorado, emergency room visits and hospitalizations linked to marijuana use have shot up, often because people try an edible, then eat too much when it doesn’t take immediate effect, leading to an overdose — as famously documented firsthand by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

Many weed-related websites offer advice on how to handle a “freak out,” noting that most users will be fine with time, and generally advising to try to relax in a safe place and wait it out, which may take hours or even all day or night.

It’s more important, in Unruh’s view, to set limits on each serving of edibles, so that users know how much they’re taking and start with small amounts until they know what dose is best for them.

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“I think it would be counterproductive to limit (THC) potencies until we really know (the effects),” he said. “I think it’s dosing — that addresses the issue.”

Cannabis advocates also point out that despite increased use of the product, the incidence of schizophrenia has remained about the same, at less than 1%.

Paul Armentano, deputy director for the advocacy group NORML, acknowledged in an email that marijuana use carries risk particularly for young people and those with a family history of mental illness, which is why the group supports age restrictions and public education.

Such awareness campaigns have helped steadily decrease use, particularly among adolescents, of tobacco and alcohol, which unlike marijuana, kill thousands of people each year. And legal cannabis has the advantage of lab testing and potency statements on the label, unlike illegal pot. Armentano also pointed out that the FDA-approved drug Marinol, used to quell nausea, is 100 percent synthetic THC, but is used safely, without the risk of fatal overdose that opioids have.

Dr. Shalini Varma, a psychiatrist and addiction counselor in Vernon Hills, said she has seen patients who were heavy marijuana users who suffered psychotic breaks, such as a patient thinking the television is talking to him, or that his eyes are filming other people.

“They can’t function,” she said. But many of her patients won’t admit it’s a problem. “I treat lots of different drug problems. More than any other drug, they hold onto this.”

As for the regulatory process, a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture could not say what limits the agency will set, but said the emergency rules will be ready, as required, within 180 days of the law’s signing — a deadline which is just days before legal sales are to begin.

 

[Baron23]

Illinois awards its first five recreational marijuana licenses, including locations in Naperville, Mundelein

Illinois awarded its first recreational marijuana licenses Thursday to five medical dispensaries. The stores can begin selling cannabis to consumers without a prescription on Jan. 1.

The dispensaries include The Clinic Mundelein, The Clinic Effingham, Salveo Health and Wellness in Canton, and the 3C Compassionate Care Center locations in Naperville and Joliet.

Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries owns four of those shops, and has a 50% ownership stake in The Clinic Effingham.

“GTI is thrilled that our five stores received the state of Illinois’ first approvals,” GTI spokeswoman Linda Marsicano said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing the excellent partnerships we have in the communities we serve across the state.”

Illinois has 55 medical cannabis dispensaries that were all able to apply to sell recreational marijuana from their existing locations. They can also apply to open a second shop. More licenses are expected to be awarded.

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The state’s new marijuana law, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law earlier this summer, allows municipalities to ban recreational sales. Many eyes have been on Naperville in recent weeks as the city council debates whether to allow recreational sales in the western suburb. A recently formed group is set to hold a rally Saturday in hopes of persuading the City Council to ban pot sales.

GTI has had a great relationship with Naperville since 2015, Marsicano said.

“We continue to talk and work with the city on this important issue,” she said.

Cannabis companies are concerned about the administration’s strict interpretation of the word “location” in the law legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana. The legislation’s lead sponsors, Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, told Pritzker in a letter last week that the administration’s stance “threatens the success of the program.”

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After initially telling medical marijuana companies that they would be able to relocate their existing stores and still seek a license to sell recreational pot, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation changed its interpretation, according to the letter the Chicago Democrats sent Pritzker on Aug. 22.

The agency has told operators that if a medical dispensary moves, it will not be awarded a license to sell recreational marijuana, the letter said. That’s a problem for the shops that may want to move because they are located in municipalities that have banned or are considering a ban on pot sales.

The lawmakers urged Pritzker to intervene and ask the department to “interpret the law as the legislature intended.”

So far, the administration appears unmoved. Pritzker said in a response Tuesday that the state doesn’t know how many shops would be affected, as many municipalities haven’t decided on how to regulate recreational sales.

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“My office is more than willing to discuss potential solutions with you when we have a better understanding of the scope of the problem,” he said in the letter.

The state has to balance the needs of existing businesses with the law’s goal of creating greater “social equity” in the marijuana industry, Pritzker said, noting that existing medical dispensary operators can still seek licenses for a secondary retail location under the law.

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Chris Slaby, a spokesman for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, deferred to Pritzker’s office on the issue.

Steans did not respond immediately Thursday to a request for comment. Cassidy was not available.

Pam Althoff, a former Republican state senator who now heads the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said the industry also is committed “to assuring that the social equity ... component of this legislation absolutely works.”

“We’d love to be able to sit down with the administration and walk through some of these issues,” Althoff said.

 

[Baron23]

Illinois sets strict rules for cannabis growers on how much water, energy they can use

Both recreational and medical cannabis growers in Illinois will have to meet high standards for their energy and water use.
A state law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June places limits on the amount of water and electricity growers can use, as well as setting requirements for water runoff and wastewater.

“This is a high-resource-use industry, and it doesn’t have to be,” said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago. “Illinois can show the way to do it in a better way.”
The legislation’s sustainability requirements for growers is among the strictest in the nation, according to Sam Milton, a consultant at Climate Resources Group, which helps businesses, regulators and other organizations pursue climate-friendly business practices.

“It definitely puts Illinois at or near the top in terms of state policies for energy and environmental performance for cultivation facilities,” he said.
Illinois growers must use automatic watering systems and limit how much runoff water they produce, according to the new state law. They also have to collect and filter wastewater so that it could be used to water their plants in the future.

In terms of energy consumption, a grower can use no more than 36 watts per square foot for lighting the plants. That standard is similar to one in Massachusetts, but the Illinois law goes further.

Cultivators also must use high-efficiency lights approved by the DesignLights Consortium, a nonprofit organization that pushes for the use of high-performing commercial lights.

The regulations target indoor production, where the majority of growers in the U.S. say they cultivate, according to a 2018 report from New Frontier Data.
Indoor growing uses a lot of energy. Marijuana businesses represented nearly 4% of Denver’s power use in 2018. The same New Frontier Data report estimates energy use in cannabis legal states would jump 162% by 2022, if growers do not change their practices.

Illinois lawmakers observed how much energy and water the cannabis industry used in other states around the country and saw a chance to become the standard for the country, Cassidy said.

“This bill was an opportunity to set a high bar for how this industry will grow in Illinois,” she said. “We were looking to take the lead here.”

Will the efforts pay off?
Illinois’ efforts on energy efficiency is drawing praise from many environmental groups.

“It is the best in terms of sustainability regulations of any cannabis regulation in the country,” said Jennifer Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council.
The environmental council represents more than 80 environmental groups in Illinois and pushes for stronger environmental laws and policies at the state capitol. Those groups were concerned about the energy consumption from marijuana cultivation and distribution, Walling said.

“We want to be bringing the state towards 100% clean, renewable energy,” she said. “If we’re having a new industry enter into Illinois that creates a lot of pollution or uses a lot of energy, that’s not going to protect Illinoisans.”

Illinois enters the recreational cannabis market years after Colorado, Washington and other early adopter states. Waiting that long let the state take a different approach to regulating its new industry.

“I think they learned from some of the mistakes of Colorado, Washington and Oregon,” Milton said. “A lot of states have ignored the fact that these facilities are very energy intensive.”

Being more energy efficient ultimately saves money, which Milton said will make Illinois growers more competitive as the cannabis market eventually expands nationally.

 

[Baron23]

Sorry, marijuana fans: Illinois is having trouble preparing for recreational weed

Recreational marijuana will soon be legal mere miles from Evansville. But that doesn’t mean it’ll be easy to get.
As we all know, Illinois legalized weed over the summer. Sales are set to begin on Jan. 1.
According to reports from The Chicago Tribune and others, though, preparation for the rollout has been messy and shrouded in confusion.
Only five dispensaries have nabbed licenses to offer recreational marijuana so far. Most of them sit close to Chicago, and the closest one to Evansville – The Clinic Effingham – is about two-and-half hours away.
One, in Naperville, won’t be able to sell weed at all after the Naperville City Council voted last week to prohibit recreational sales within city limits. Voters will now decide pot's fate in a public referendum.
The village of Mundelein may kneecap its legal clinic as well, and other towns could do the same as Illinois hands out more licenses through this year and next.
But that’s far from the only problem. Even dispensaries in pot-friendly places are a tad perplexed over what Illinois will require of them.
The bill that legalized weed gave state officials 180 days to conjure regulations for their new industry. With a little more than 100 days before the business goes live, those regulations haven’t been released yet, and may not hit the books until right before legal sales begin.
'In the dark'
“There will be a lot of dispensaries not ready,” Gorgi Naumovski, CEO of Thrive Dispensary, told the Chicago Tribune. “We’re all in the dark.”



That’s apparent when you call Thrive. The company owns two medical dispensaries in Southern Illinois, including one in Harrisburg — about 60 miles from Evansville.
Like most medical clinics, it would probably be thrilled to branch into recreational marijuana.
But if you ring them up to ask about that, you’re immediately re-routed to a voice message that politely begs you not to ask them about the law.
“If you are calling for information regarding the Illinois recreational cannabis program,” the voice chipperly says, “please visit the Illinois Department of Public Health website for further information.”
That would be excellent advice – if you could find any information on that website.
Links for medicinal marijuana light up the homepage, but there's nothing about recreational readily available. And if you search “recreational cannabis,” all you get are minutes from a State Board of Health meeting from September 2018.
If you search “recreational marijuana,” the website asks, “did you mean educational Marion?”
Capitalism
Then there's the issue of who's going to dominate the industry.
If you dreamed of moving to Illinois to start a hip mom-and-pop business, I’ve got bad news for you: you’re gonna have some serious competition.
Of the five dispensaries that have nabbed recreational licenses thus far, all are at least partially owned by Green-Thumb Industries – a national weed corporation.
America spent decades demonizing pot, but capitalism, god bless it, embraced the drug as soon as it become legal. We’re probably only a few years away from Walmart stocking its own weed strain next to the Count Chocula.
All this leaves business owners and potential users teetering in uncertainty.
Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell assured the Tribune that Illinois will be more than ready when legal sales begin. But weed proponents might want to curb their enthusiasm just in case.
That shouldn't be a problem. Some of you are pretty chill already.

 

[Baron23]

Well, I believe I can answer this question but it would get me a warning point....hahaha

Why Is Chicago’s Mayor Supporting Illegal Cannabis Sellers?

‘The Haymaker’ is Leafly Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott’s opinion column on cannabis politics and culture.

In Sunday’s Chicago Sun-Times, reporter Tom Schuba laid out a compelling case for embracing retail cannabis stores in one of America’s greatest cities. Headline: “Crime fell near pot shops after marijuana was fully legalized, Colorado study shows.”


The Mayor is afraid that tourists and business people might be offended by cannabis stores. Who does she think is buying cannabis?

Just as Leafly found in our study of dispensary myths earlier this year, Schuba reported that “new research shows crime rates dropped substantially in areas with marijuana dispensaries, running counter to fears that pot shops drum up crime.” His story anticipated the expected fears that many Illinois residents may have regarding adult-use legalization, which is scheduled to start statewide on Jan. 1, 2020.


Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot reacted to the Sun-Times story in a rather odd manner. Three days after its publication, she proposed banning retail cannabis stores from Chicago’s Central Business District and residential areas. Because… why, exactly?


Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar explained. Mayekar told the Associated Press that a downtown “exclusion zone” is warranted because of its high density of business and tourists. (Chicago actually has a law that defines the Central Business District. It’s enormous. If you’re at Navy Pier above Lake Michigan, the far western edge of the Business District is more than two miles away.)



RELATED STORY
Leafly Study Debunks Dispensary Myths Around Crime & Teen Use
Mayor’s Plan: Boost Illegal Sales

So instead of licensing and regulating cannabis stores, Mayor Lightfoot wants to boost the illegal cannabis market in the downtown core and in residential neighborhoods. Because that’s what happens when regulated stores are prohibited: Illicit sellers thrive. Unlicensed delivery services pop up.


Chicago residents, denied the opportunity to purchase clean, safe, lab-tested products, will resort to illicit-market products like the toxic vape pen cartridges that are currently killing people around the country.


We know this because it’s happening right now in California. One of the earliest cases of vape lung distress came out of rural Kings County, California. Why Kings County? Because no licensed, regulated cannabis stores are allowed there. So local consumers resort to illegal, untested products—which last month put seven people in the hospital.

Are Chicagoans This Frail?

City Hall’s reasoning has me confused. Does Mayor Lightfoot believe Chicago’s thriving business district would be thrown into chaos by the opening of a handful of licensed cannabis boutiques?


When did Chicago turn into a city of fearful pearl-clutchers?

I’m surprised she believes her city’s adults have such little resilience, responsibility, and willpower. I think of Ditka, Oprah, Obama, and Royko when I think of Chicago—strong, tough characters. Perhaps I’m mistaken.


There are currently about 870 licensed bars serving alcohol in Chicago. Hundreds of them serve businesspeople in the Central Business District. Available evidence indicates that their presence has little deleterious effect on the suit-and-tie crowd’s ability to carry out the tasks of the day. In fact, it’s rumored that business transactions may actually occur within these establishments.

Tourists: Shops Are Features, Not Bugs

And those tourists? Well, you don’t have to tell me about tourists avoiding cities with cannabis stores. Seattle (40 million annual visitors, eighth straight year of record tourism growth), Denver (tourism revenue hit a record $6.5 billion in 2017), San Francisco (26 million annual visitors), and Las Vegas (42 million people per year) have clearly turned into ghost towns since their legal stores opened.


Want to know how much tourists loathe cannabis? Stop by the Herban Legends store or Have a Heart’s Belltown outlet on the day a cruise ship is docked along the nearby Seattle waterfront. Pack a lunch, because you’ll be waiting behind a long line of out-of-towners thrilled to make their first legal cannabis purchase.

Open Stores. Make Chicago Better and Safer

I get it, Mayor Lightfoot. You’re anxious. Maybe even a little scared. When you try to imagine a cannabis store, you probably think of the scuzziest vape shop or liquor store. I’ve seen this happen in every single state that’s legalized. People imagine the worst. And then when they actually walk into a cannabis boutique, they’re shocked at how clean, safe, attractive, and normal the whole experience is.


Look at the data, Mayor Lightfoot. Use evidence, not fear, to drive policy.

Earlier this year, Leafly’s editorial staff took a look at the deepest fears—about crime, underage use, and property values—and found hard evidence dispelling every one of them. Crime does not rise (in many places, it falls), teen use remains unchanged or falls, and property values remain the same or rise.


Look into the available data, Mayor Lightfoot. Then come out to Seattle. Visit Denver. Stop in to a legal, licensed store in Boston. Or Las Vegas. Or San Francisco. See for yourself. And reconsider your urge to keep the illegal sellers, and their toxic vape cartridges, thriving on the streets of Chicago.

 

[Baron23]

75 marijuana licenses up for grabs in Illinois

The state is announcing 75 new licenses up for grabs for people looking to get into the "adult use" or recreational cannabis business.



The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations has put out applications for new dispensing organizations.
People with medical cannabis dispensaries in the state were already able to apply for up to two recreational licenses - one for their current facility plus an additional location.
These new applications tell us how many more marijuana shops communities could expect.
"There's one for this area, it's called a Bureau of Labor Statistics region, that will be made available in that application process,” HCI Alternatives Senior Policy Advisor Chris Stone said. “So there could be a total of five in and around Springfield."
The state will accept applications from December 10 through January 2, 2020.
Once someone is awarded a license, they will have 180 days to find a location for his or her business.

 

[momofthegoons]

Marijuana goes on sale in Illinois in January — but a tight supply might make it hard to buy

Yasmin Pena trims excess leaves from marijuana plants at Cresco Labs medical marijuana cultivation facility, August 8, 2018, in Joliet. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)



When marijuana shops open their doors to the public in January, shoppers at the back of the line might notice something missing once they get inside: the weed.

Nearly every state that allows recreational marijuana had some shops run out or run low in the first days of sales. In Colorado, some customers were greeted with signs telling them to check back the next day. In Nevada, higher-than-expected sales in the first week left shelves near empty.

On Jan. 1, it will be Illinois’ turn.

“I’m fully anticipating there’s going to be product shortages in the early days,” said Kris Krane, president and co-founder of 4Front Ventures, which owns a growing facility in Elk Grove Village and Mission South Shore dispensary in the South Chicago neighborhood. “There just isn’t going to be that much product available on Jan. 1.”

Like elsewhere, interest and demand for weed is expected to be strong, but factors specific to Illinois also could lead to shortages. Many of the state’s 21 growing facilities are expanding capacity, but construction takes time. Furthermore, the state so far has licensed only seven of them to grow recreational weed, and it takes a cannabis crop about three months to grow.

Additionally, the number of patients in the state’s medical marijuana program roughly doubled in the past year, and continues to grow. Those patients will be shopping at the same stores as recreational customers.

Illinois law requires dispensaries to make sure they have enough cannabis for medical patients. That means if supplies run low, retail locations might start limiting how much recreational customers can buy, require appointments or sell only to medical patients.

Dispensaries that run out of products for patients once recreational sales start could face up to $10,000 fines. Mark de Souza, CEO of Revolution Global, which owns a growing facility and a retail location in Illinois, said some stores already see shortages of certain products.

“When you’re out of it, you put up a sign that says 'Recreational inventory sold out,’ but it’s a tough row to hoe,” he said. “I really hope the industry puts their patients first.”
Any demand-supply imbalance also could be helped by the addition of growers. Applications for smaller, “craft” growers open next year, and additional large-scale cultivation licenses won’t be awarded until 2021, if demand allows it.

Chicago-based PharmaCann is more than doubling production at its Dwight facility, but the increased capacity won’t start hitting store shelves until mid-2020, said Jeremy Unruh, director of public and regulatory affairs.

“It’s going to be a bumpy first six months or so,” he said “Six months from the passage of the bill to the first sale is very, very quick.”

Eventually, nearly 946,000 Illinois residents — more than 9% of people over age 21 — could become cannabis consumers, according to a study commissioned by Illinois lawmakers and conducted by consulting firm Freedman and Koski earlier this year. Out of the roughly 114 million visitors to Illinois each year, almost 11 million are expected to buy weed.

In comparison, less than 51,000 medical patients bought weed at dispensaries in September.

In Colorado, it took several years for demand to build and for growers to be able to fully supply it. But the first days of legal marijuana sales carry with them an excitement that draws people to wait in line, even on a cold January day.

“On the opening day and weeks, there’s a novelty to it and a kind of celebration to it that spikes a sell-off not unlike the new Apple phone coming out,” said Andrew Freedman, co-founder and partner at the San Francisco-based consulting firm.

Jason Erkes, spokesman for Chicago-based Cresco Labs, said he expects cannabis supplies to level off after the initial buying frenzy calms down. Cresco has three growing facilities in the state, all of which have been or are being expanded. It also owns five retail locations and is looking to open five more.

“It’s important to remember that Jan. 1 is the first day that cannabis can be sold, but nobody ever thought that every business would be up and running the first day,” he said.

Many local municipalities still have to decide if they’ll allow recreational sales, and the industry is at odds with the state on whether they should be allowed to relocate existing shops and still sell recreational cannabis from those storefronts. And if municipalities ban recreational shops, it puts more pressure on stores nearby.

A lack of places to buy recreational marijuana in January will likely contribute to the supply issue, Freeman said. That happened in Colorado, too.

"You’re going to just see really high prices when compared to medical and the illicit market prices at the beginning,” he said. “There’s a spike in demand, there’s a lower supply in the regulated (market), so the price goes up. That happens everywhere.”

Having a highly regulated medical cannabis program will likely help smooth the roll out of recreational sales, Freedman said. He also said it’s better to have products sell out in the early days than to have too much weed, like the situation that unfolded in Oregon.

An overabundance of licenses to grow resulted in so much marijuana in Oregon, many worry it could end up being sold on the black market or smuggled across state lines. Krane from 4Front Ventures said the best thing to do is give the system time to work, and not over-correct by handing out more licenses.

“Recognize what’s coming," he said. “Don’t panic when it happens, because it’s simply a product of this transition period."

 

[momofthegoons]

Wow...

Marijuana Legalization In Illinois Won’t Apply To People Living In Public Housing

Public-housing residents could be evicted for consuming state-legal cannabis.

Once again, a major failing in the current model of state-by-state marijuana legalization has been exposed. In Chicago, the public housing agency has released a memo clarifying that residents may not partake in the state’s soon-to-be-legal cannabis industry in the comfort of their homes.

Chicago Housing Authority, which is the third largest agency of its kind in the country with over 20,000 households in its system, had this to say in a communication sent to housing voucher recipients:

“While federal law prohibits marijuana use and possession in federally subsidized housing, the CHA is working to educate and inform residents so they understand all applicable laws related to cannabis and federally-funded housing. The CHA will work with the City of Chicago as it develops rules and regulations in accordance with existing state and federal laws in order to ensure a safe and responsible implementation of legalized cannabis in Chicago on January 1, 2020.”

The memo was a reminder of an issue that has plagued many of the five million public housing residents across the country, of whom one quarter are disabled and 35 percent are elderly. Since many such programs are federally funded, federal law applies to the properties. That means residents can be evicted for consuming state-legal cannabis, even if they have been approved as medical marijuana patients.


Residents Face Evictions
Such regulations can be disastrous, particularly for public housing residents whose age or health condition leave them with limited mobility, and echoes similar restrictions on residents of federally subsidized nursing homes. In upstate New York, an elderly man was evicted from his public housing after authorities discovered he had been taking medicinal marijuana for his chronic pain condition. 78-year-old John Flickner wound up in a homeless shelter, even though he has a New York medical cannabis card.

A similar incident took place in California’s Humboldt County, where a woman and her teenage daughter were evicted after a maintenance worker discovered a small bag of the woman’s medicinal marijuana in their apartment. That woman’s lawsuit against the federal government over the matter was dismissed by a judge this summer.

The issue has not gone unchallenged in Washington, D.C. U.S. Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced the latest bill that would permit medical marijuana use in public housing this spring. She presented a similar proposal during the last session that did not make it out of committee.


“Individuals living in federally funded housing should not fear eviction simply for treating their medical conditions or for seeking a substance legal in their state,” Norton commented upon bringing up the legislation earlier this year.

Illinois will become the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana on January 1, after Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation into effect in June. It is estimated that cannabis sales could pull $250 million in tax revenue by 2022.

The legislation has a special focus on social equity programs, and will prioritize business applications from entrepreneurs hailing from communities negatively affected by the War on Drugs as well as facilitate the expungement of thousands of past cannabis-related crimes.


This summer, the state’s medical cannabis program also underwent an expansion that added 11 new qualifying conditions for patients and guaranteed the permanent status of the system, among other changes.

 

[momofthegoons]

BREAKING: Illinois to Remove Medical Cannabis Card Registration From Police Database

A new amendment was filed on November 12th, aims to remove notations on driving records for people registered as qualifying patients or a caregiver. Further, upon approval of new registrations, the registered patient’s information would no longer be forwarded to the Secretary of State, which in effect removes medical cannabis registration information from the patient’s driving records, which up until recently could be pulled up by law enforcement when searching for driver license information. The amendment is waiting to be passed but it seems to be not if, but when.

Through the life of the program, many have refrained from obtaining a medical cannabis card for this reason, and the change will soon allow patients to more comfortably travel knowing their medical cannabis card registration is not readily available to law enforcement officials, who have been historically enforcing laws against cannabis.
With recreational consumers not being subject to such scrutiny, the amendment levels the field in restoring privacy rights for all consumers no matter whether they do so for recreational or medical purposes.

Furthermore, the amendment restores the age requirement for minor patients to be able to consume cannabis. Previously, consumers under the age of 21 were going to be prohibited from consuming forms of cannabis other than infused products and from purchasing any usable cannabis. But with the amendment, the age restriction dropped only to patients under the age of 18, once again allowing medical patients from the ages of 18-21 to purchase other forms of usable cannabis products.

According to our Administrator and Legislative Liason, Sandy Champion,
“If passed this week, the Secretary of State will have 6 months to remove all medical cannabis patients from their databases! In addition, effective immediately, patients age 18-21 will have their rights restored and can purchase all cannabis products.
Thanks to all our sponsors for getting this done.”

Read the full amendment here.