Illinois will become the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana if the state legislature approves the bill later this month. Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) has indicated his support for legalizing marijuana operations in his state, but he will need the support of a Republican-controlled legislature to make the law.
Illinoisans are pushing for a more equitable cannabis industry. The state is poised to legalize medicinal marijuana next year, but some are hoping to see more investments in the industry and jobs in the long term.
Marijuana is currently a billion-dollar industry in Illinois, but not everyone gets their share of the pie. When the state legalized recreational cannabis in 2019, 75 social justice dispensary licenses were awarded to people from communities hardest hit by the drug war. After more than 4,000 applications, only 21 were approved. The law was not meant to be dominated and monopolized by a few people with millions and millions of dollars, said state Representative LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago. The state’s latest pharmacy demographics report, from June 2020, shows that only 14 percent of those who own or partially own a pharmacy are women. What’s even more striking is that only 6% of them are people of color, only one of whom is African-American. Dameon Johnson, a Springfield resident, is one of those to whom a social capital licence has not yet been issued despite the May 2020 deadline. The original intent of the legislation was to increase diversity in the industry, and we clearly haven’t achieved that goal at this point, Johnson said. Johnson is a senior associate at Emerald Valley Industries. He said the adult-use marijuana industry in the state is largely made up of companies that have taken advantage of loopholes in the legalization law by cutting off access to small and medium-sized dispensaries. He says the application process was confusing and it was not clear how and by whom the application was reviewed. Ford’s new bill would lower the original eligibility requirements and restart the process for 75 social justice permits and add another 110. I hope this helps move things forward, because the entire adult consumer industry is at a standstill because of this lawsuit, Johnson said. We are at a huge disadvantage, and I really hope the state of Illinois recognizes that and offers assistance to companies like ours. Johnson hopes the proposed legislation will solve the problem, but he also doesn’t expect it to solve everything. House Democrats on Thursday said 20. May at a press conference at the Statehouse that they hope to get the reform bill through before the end of the legislative session this month. It is currently awaiting a vote in the House of Representatives.
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