Illinois lawmakers appear to have reached a consensus on legalizing recreational cannabis in the state.
Proposed new legislation passed the state Senate Wednesday evening with bipartisan support. The vote was 38 in favor, 17 against, and four either abstaining or voting “present.”
The measure would place limits on purchasing: only people aged 21 and older could buy up to about an ounce of the dried plant, with smaller allowable quantities of oils or edibles.
The proposed tax rate would be 10 percent for marijuana with less than 35 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly referred to as THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The bill imposes a 25 percent tax for products with higher THC levels. Cannabis-infused products like edibles, waxes and concentrate oils will have a tax rate of 20 percent. The new tax revenue would be sent to a number of programs and the state’s General Revenue Fund. Local governments could impose a 3 percent tax on cannabis sales in addition to the state tax.
“We know prohibition is not working,” said sponsor Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago. “It’s time to come up with a better policy.”
Many of the previous opponents to legalization, including Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, say the newly agreed upon changes are going to become the gold-standard for legalization framework.
“I appreciate all of your willingness to accommodate those requests of ours,” he said.
Law enforcement remains opposed to the bill, mainly for reasons of enforceability of a home-grow provision and the lack of a standardized sobriety test.
“As of right now, road-side testing does not exist in terms of a validated standard,” said Jim Kaitschuk with the Illinois Sheriffs Association.
The bill would also provide special consideration for licensed dispensers considered a “social equity applicant.”
This controversial part of the bill classifies such applicants as “individuals who have been arrested or incarcerated due to drug laws [who] suffer long-lasting negative consequences, including impacts to employment, business ownership, housing, health, and long-term financial well-being.”
A committee of lawmakers with legal backgrounds expressed concern with this portion of the cannabis legalization bill, saying the reference to giving priority to a subset of people based on things like rates of incarceration could be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. They worried it could be construed as a sort of “back-door reference” to prioritizing one racial subset of people over another. Ben Ruddell, a lawyer with the ACLU of Illinois, said the classifications would hold up if challenged in court because the special preference isn’t based on race or gender.
However constitutionally viable, state Rep. André Thapedi said Tuesday night that the bill would not pass without the provisions.
The House passed an earlier version of the legislation in April, but because of Senate amendments, it returns to the lower chamber where it faces a concurrence vote. Friday is the deadline to pass legislation with a simple majority.
Legalization of cannabis for recreational use was praised as a cash crop by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in his first proposed budget, with supporters predicting it would raise up to $57 million in its first partial fiscal year.
If enacted, the legal carry portion of the law would go into effect on January 1st of 2020.
