Politics
Illinois Governor Celebrates Passage Of Marijuana Bill By Hosting Signing Ceremony At A Dispensary
The governor of Illinois hosted a signing ceremony at a dispensary for a bill that doubles the amount of marijuana that adults can legally possess, significantly restricts hemp THC products and makes other changes to rules for how licensed businesses can operate.
While Gov. JB Pritzker (D) gave formal approval to the legislation last month, he held an event on Thursday at the SWAY Cannabis Dispensary in Chicago to celebrate the reforms it enacted.
“I’m proud that Illinois continues to lead the nation in showing what thoughtful, balanced cannabis policy can achieve,” he said.
“When we legalized cannabis, we recognize that we couldn’t simply create a new industry while ignoring the racist, unequal policies that came before it. More than just rectifying the mistakes of our past, we needed to build an engine for growth and opportunity,” the governor said. “We paired legalization with expungements, with restorative justice investments and the strongest cannabis social equity licensing program anywhere in the country. That commitment has produced real results.”
“Today, Illinois has the most diverse cannabis industry in America, because we made equity a fundamental part of what we are building. It’s not an afterthought, it’s central.”
“This new law builds on that success by creating additional opportunities for social equity entrepreneurs reducing unnecessary financial burdens that box out smaller operators and helping more businesses succeed in a highly competitive industry,” Pritzker said. “We’re streamlining licensing and administrative processes, reducing duplicative requirements, improving coordination across state agencies and giving regulators better tools to enforce the law, while making compliance easier for responsible businesses.”
“Our legislation is good for the safety of our children, it is good for the health of medical cannabis users, it is good for the strength and vitality and social equity of our cannabis industry and of our state,” he said.
The governor said being able to hold the signing ceremony at a cannabis business with a social equity license “means an awful lot.”
“It means we’ve made a ton of progress already, and now we’re poised for even more,” he said. “This is an incredible, diverse small business—so are so many others in this industry, and they make up a thriving and vibrant cannabis industry that was created just six years ago when Illinois legalized adult use cannabis.”
A new report from the Parabola Center for Law and Policy, however, raises questions about how equitable Illinois’s cannabis market really is despite the governor’s claims.
Hedy Yang, a fellow with the group, called out a “corporate takeover” of the state’s cannabis industry in a recent Marijuana Moment op-ed.
“Six years in, 264 brands compete on dispensary shelves across the state. But those brands answer to far fewer owners, and a few incumbents capture nearly 79 cents of every dollar in statewide revenue,” she wrote.
As enacted into law, SB 3222 allows residents of the state who are over 21 years of age to possess up to 60 grams of marijuana flower—double the amount in prior law. They are also able to have up to 10 grams of cannabis concentrates and infused products with up to 1,000 mg of THC—also double the earlier limit. Possession amounts for adult non-residents are also doubled under the bill.
People with past convictions for possession of up to 60 grams of marijuana will now be able to have those records expunged—double the previous cutoff allowing only those with convictions for up to 30 grams to be eligible.
The legislation also recriminalizes hemp THC products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, in line with a federal ban that is set to take effect in November.
At Thursday’s signing ceremony, the governor touted those provisions, saying that intoxicating hemp products have proliferated under a “federal loophole”—arguing that they create “real risks to the public, especially for our kids.”
Among other changes, the bill also allows drive-thrus and curbside pickup at dispensaries, permits them to stay open until 2 a.m. and makes it so medical cannabis certifications can be issued via telehealth.
Canopy limits for craft cannabis cultivators will be expanded form 5,000 to 14,000 square feet, and the new law loosens some security requirements for marijuana businesses while also waiving or reducing fees for smaller operators.
In 2019, Pritzker signed the state’s initial marijuana legalization policy into law.
While the broader restrictions on hemp products take effect in the state on November 12 in conjunction with the similar federal move, sales to people under 21 are prohibited immediately,
The legislation separately allows all marijuana dispensaries to register to sell medical cannabis specifically. The list of medical marijuana qualifying conditions is also being expanded to add female orgasmic disorder, endometriosis, ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids.
“Today’s bill signing is another example of Illinois leading with both purpose and responsibility,” Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D) said. “SB 3222 strengthens consumer protections, expands access for patients, and reinforces our commitment to an equitable cannabis industry where public safety and opportunity go hand in hand. This law helps ensure our policies continue to reflect the needs of Illinois families and communities.”
