Overall, the year has not lived up to expectations. This was supposed to be the big year for marijuana legalization. But in many state capitols across the country, efforts have stalled or collapsed as Democrats clash over everything from race and criminal justice to how to divvy up a gold mine of pot-tax revenue. Legalization […]
Illinois
Illinois Medical Cannabis Growers Lobby on License Issue
Medical marijuana growers in Illinois have formed a political action committee and are spending money in an attempt to limit the market if recreational use of the drug is legalized in the state. CHICAGO (AP) — MEDICAL marijuana growers in Illinois have formed a political action committee and are spending money in an attempt to […]
Illinois Medical Marijuana Industry Continues to Grow Despite Restrictions
In a warehouse in Joliet, hundreds of marijuana plants sway under high-intensity lights, taking in carbon dioxide-rich air, sucking up a constant feed of nutrients and bristling with buds. Like Olympic athletes, the plants are rigorously trained and intensively pampered. Tiny predator bugs patrol the surface of the vegetation, hunting down any pests. Workers prune […]
Illinois Decriminalization Measure Approved By Gov. Rauner
Getting caught with small amounts of marijuana will result in citations akin to a traffic ticket instead of the possibility of jail time under legislation Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law Friday. Rauner’s approval of the decriminalization measure comes after he used his amendatory veto powers last year to rewrite similar legislation he argued […]
Illinois Governor Gives OK to Extend State’s Pilot Program for Medical Marijuana
Medical marijuana advocates are applauding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s about-face on expanding Illinois’ pilot program in length and qualifying conditions, saying it will allow time to show the program is worthwhile and will help more patients — including many veterans — who are suffering. Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang announced late Friday that he, the Republican […]
Illinois Governor Seems Ready to Sign Cannabis Decriminalization Bill
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Thursday said he’d “probably be comfortable” with a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. The bill, approved by a 64-50 vote by the Illinois House on Wednesday, would ensure no one in Illinois could be criminally charged for possession of 10 grams or less of marijuana. The […]
Illinois Lawmakers Send Governor Another Bill to Decriminalize Marijuana
House lawmakers sent Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner legislation on Wednesday to decriminalize marijuana across the state, meaning people caught with small amounts of marijuana would be fined instead of receiving jail time. The legislation incorporates changes the Republican governor suggested when he used his amendatory veto powers to rewrite similar legislation last year. Rauner said […]
Illinois legislature Pushing to Decriminalize Marijuana Statewide
The Illinois Senate took another stab at decriminalizing marijuana statewide, approving a measure Tuesday aimed at satisfying Gov. Bruce Rauner’s concerns that led him to veto a similar bill last year. The idea is that people caught with small amounts of marijuana would be fined instead of receiving jail time. The first-term Republican governor contended the […]
Illinois Opts to Not Expand List of Conditions For Medical Marijuana
Ilinois will not expand the list of conditions that qualifies people to get medical marijuana, Gov. Bruce Rauner‘s administration announced Friday. The announcement came despite pleas from patient advocates and medical marijuana business owners who say they need more patients to make the industry viable in the state. So far, only about 4,000 people have […]
Medical Marijuana Advocates Push For Illinois Governor to Expand Program
Medical marijuana advocates are mounting a petition drive and social media campaign to convince Gov. Bruce Rauner to greatly expand the program in Illinois — but the governor hasn’t yet given any indication he would do so. The campaign is driven in part by industry officials who fear their businesses won’t survive without more than […]
Illinois Medical Marijuana Sales Top $1.7 Million
Officials say Illinois patients legally purchased nearly $1.7 million worth of medical marijuana during November and December. Program director Joseph Wright on Monday announced sales figures since Nov. 9, when Illinois launched regulated sales with the opening of the state’s first licensed cannabis dispensaries. Wholesale sales — what growers sold to dispensaries — totaled more […]
Medical Marijuana Lures Former Law Enforcement to Illinois
With fewer than 4,000 approved patients, the nascent medical marijuana business in Illinois is off to a slow start. Yet it hasn’t kept away a cadre of cannabis entrepreneurs who once relied on guns, badges, tough drug laws and lengthy prison sentences to fight the drug. While neither state regulators nor the medical marijuana industry track the number of employees who […]
Illinois Patients Get Medical Marijuana Edibles
Edible medical marijuana made its Illinois debut Saturday, ending a wait for patients who prefer eating to inhaling. To some, cannabis-infused foods seem milder than smoke or vapor, but the products carry their own risks. It takes longer to feel the effects when marijuana is eaten, so it’s easy to eat too much with unpleasant […]
First Month of Illinois Medical Marijuana Taxes Hits $57,000
Ilinois officials say the state’s first medical marijuana patients have purchased nearly $801,000 worth of cannabis during the program’s first month. Program director Joseph Wright announced the figures Wednesday. The numbers indicate Illinois has collected roughly $56,550 in taxes from wholesale sales of medical marijuana during the month. Marijuana wholesalers pay a 7 percent tax […]
Chicago’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Opens Uptown
With about a dozen people on hand, Chicago’s first medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors in Uptown on Wednesday. “We’ve been working so hard for so long,” co-owner Zachary Zises told RedEye before the 11 a.m. opening of Dispensary 33 at 5001 N. Clark St. It’s among a handful of dispensaries that have opened statewide in recent […]
Prominent Chicago Chef to Make Edibles for Medical Marijuana Patients
A top chef may soon be causing the munchies even as she satisfies them. Prominent Chicago chef Mindy Segal announced Tuesday she plans to create a line of cannabis-infused edible products for medical marijuana patients. Segal, the owner of HotChocolate restaurant in Bucktown, has agreed to make a line of products for Cresco Labs, which […]
Good Demand in Illinois For Marijuana During First Week of Medical Sales
Patients bought $210,000 of medical marijuana in the first week it was legal in Illinois, marking what patients and industry officials said was a welcome, if overdue, start. “By and large, things have gone well,” said Joseph Wright, director of the Illinois Medical Marijuana Pilot Program. More than 800 patients bought 13,000 grams of cannabis […]
Illinois Medical Marijuana Sales Are Set to Begin
Marijuana is expected to be sold legally in Illinois for the first time in decades Monday to those who have qualified to be among the first patients in the state’s medical cannabis program. Barring any last-minute glitches, up to eight marijuana dispensaries, including several in the Chicago area, are scheduled to open Monday, after state […]
