Pritzker, Dems introduce bill to legalize marijuana statewide

Gov. J.B. Pritzker Saturday announced the full details of the much-anticipated bill that would lift the statewide prohibition on marijuana and allow Illinois pot shops to start selling the drug legally by the start of the new year.

The 300-page legislation would allow Illinoisans over 21 years old to possess 30 grams, or just over an ounce of cannabis flower — or the dried plant matter that’s commonly smoked — and 5 grams, or less than a quarter-ounce, of cannabis concentrates like hash oil. Additionally, Illinoisans would be able to carry up to a half-gram of pot-infused products like edibles.

While Pritzker didn’t touch on how much tax money could be generated and the bill doesn’t include revenue estimates, the governor’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020 included $170 million in projected revenue from licensing and fees related to legal cannabis. Instead of extolling the potential economic benefits of legalization, Pritzker and his allies stressed the ways the measure would prioritize racial and social equity and address the toll of the drug war on minority communities.

“We are taking a major step forward to legalize adult use cannabis and to celebrate the fact that Illinois is going to have the most equity-centric law in the nation. For the many individuals and families whose lives have been changed, indeed hurt, because the nation’s war on drugs discriminated against people of color, this day belongs to you, too,” Pritzker said during a news conference at the Black United Fund of Illinois’ office at 1809 E. 71st St. [Read More @ Chicago Sun Times]