Politics
Illinois Senate Approves Marijuana Legalization Ballot Question
Illinois lawmakers voted to place a marijuana legalization measure on the state’s November ballot.
The question posed to voters would read:
“Shall the State of Illinois legalize the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products for recreational use by adults 21 and older subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance?”
The measure would not be binding, but would likely prod state lawmakers to more seriously consider passing a bill to legalize marijuana in 2019.
The Senate vote on Thursday was 37 to 13. The measure now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration.
SB2275 is up on the floor, @SenCunningham's measure to put an advisory referenda on the ballot on the legalization of marijuana. It passes 37-13.
— IL Senate Democrats (@ILSenDems) March 1, 2018
“The debate over marijuana legalization is continuing to lead many states to consider various ideas and changes to current laws,” Sen. Bill Cunningham (D), the chief sponsor of the referendum legislation, said in a press release. “Asking the people of Illinois how they feel about the subject can help determine which path we take as legislators.”
Voters in Cook County — the state’s most populous county and the second largest in the U.S. — will already see a similar cannabis question on their March 20 primary election ballot.
Several candidates for governor and attorney general are campaigning on platforms that include support for marijuana legalization.
Illinois Voters Will Make Major Marijuana Decisions In March
Lawmakers in at least eight other states are considering bills to place marijuana referendums before voters.
That includes Rhode Island, where a state representative filed a cannabis legalization referendum proposal on Wednesday.
