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Recently Adopted Cannabis Legalization Laws
Recent State Policies to Legalize Recreational Use of Cannabis
Certain States may have adopted laws legalizing the recreational use of cannabis since the effective date of the most recent comprehensive update to the policy information on this website (January 1, 2019). We have summarized these laws below for the benefit of researchers who wish to keep abreast of these developments. Links to these laws are also included.
Illinois
On May 31, 2019, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. The Act was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on June 25, 2019, to become effective on January 1, 2020. Illinois is the first State to both legalize the recreational use of cannabis and to establish a retail framework for its sale through legislation, rather than referendum.
The law permits Illinois residents age 21 and older to possess, consume, purchase, obtain, or transport no more than 30 grams of cannabis flower, no more than 500 milligrams of THC in cannabis-infused products, and no more than 5 grams of cannabis concentrate. The cultivation of cannabis for personal use is restricted to Illinois residents age 21 and older who are registered qualifying patients under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act. Such patients may cultivate cannabis plants, with a limit of 5 plants that are more than 5 inches tall, per household, in an enclosed, locked space in a residential property without a cultivation center or craft grower license.
The law does not permit the transfer of cannabis to persons under the age of 21. A person under the age of 21 who is found to be in possession of cannabis is guilty of a civil law violation. If a person under the age of 21 found in possession of cannabis is in a motor vehicle at the time, his or her driving privileges may be suspended or revoked. If an underage person purchases or attempts to purchase cannabis using a false identification, he or she is committing a misdemeanor violation and may be subject to the suspension or revocation of his or her driving privileges. If a parent or guardian is found to have knowingly permitted underage persons to consume cannabis, he or she is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
The law does not permit any person to engage in any activity under the influence of cannabis when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice or misconduct, and allows the imposition of penalties for doing so. Unless permitted under the medical cannabis act, the possession or use of cannabis is prohibited in a school bus, on school grounds, in a correctional facility, or in a childcare facility. The use of cannabis is prohibited in any public place and while operating a motor vehicle, aircraft, or motor boat. The use of cannabis by a law enforcement officer, corrections officer, probation officer, or firefighter while on duty, or the use of cannabis by a person who has a school bus permit or a Commercial Driver’s License while on duty, is not permitted.
Private businesses are permitted to restrict or prohibit the use of cannabis on their property, and the law does not require an individual or business entity to violate the provisions of Federal law, including colleges or universities that must abide by the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 which require campuses to be drug free. The law also permits employers to maintain drug free workplaces and to discipline employees for violating workplace drug policies and working under the influence.
An excise tax of 10 percent (in addition to all other State or local taxes) will be levied on the purchase of cannabis (other than a cannabis-infused product) with an adjusted delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level at or below 35 percent. If the THC level is above 35 percent, the excise tax rate will be 25 percent. Cannabis-infused products will be taxed at 20 percent of the purchase price. In addition, a 7 percent gross receipts tax will be imposed upon the sale of cannabis by a cultivator to a dispensing organization.
Unless otherwise specified, all taxes, fees, and fines collected under this law are to be deposited into the Cannabis Regulation Fund, which is established to fund the Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer, their staff, or any activities of their office. This office is established under the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which is responsible for enforcing the provisions of the Act pertaining to the oversight and registration of dispensing organizations and agents. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may suspend or revoke the licenses of, or impose penalties upon, the businesses under their oversight.
The Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer may:
- Make recommendations for policy, statute, and rule changes;
- Collect data regarding the regulation of cannabis;
- Ensure the coordination of efforts among the various agencies involved in regulating and taxing the sale of cannabis;
- Promote best practices for ensuring diversity in the cannabis industry.
The Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer shall:
- Commission and publish a disparity and availability study, evaluating the existence of discrimination within the State’s cannabis industry.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is responsible for administering and enforcing provisions of the law related to the oversight and registration of cultivation centers, craft growers, infuser organizations, and transporting organizations, including the issuance of identification cards and establishing limitations on the potency or serving size of cannabis or cannabis products. The Department of Agriculture may suspend or revoke the licenses of, or impose penalties upon, the businesses under its oversight.
Local governments are permitted to enact reasonable zoning ordinances regulating cannabis business establishments, as long as these ordinances do not conflict with the State law. The ordinances may include limitations on the time, place, and manner of operation, on the number of business operations, and the minimum distances between these businesses and locations deemed sensitive. Local governments may establish penalties for the violation of these ordinances. The law permits registered voters living in precincts within municipalities with populations of 500,000 or more to petition their municipality to create restricted cannabis zones in which home cultivation or cannabis business establishments are prohibited.
The law includes provisions supporting social equity in the cannabis industry by providing for financial assistance and license application benefits to individuals most directly and adversely impacted by the enforcement of cannabis-related laws who are interested in starting cannabis business establishments. A Cannabis Business Development Fund is established within the State Treasury to provide this financial assistance. This fund is to be supported by monies gathered for Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization licenses for both medical and recreational cannabis establishments. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is to establish grant and loan programs, subject to appropriations for the Cannabis Business Development Fund, for the purposes of providing financial assistance, loans, grants, and technical assistance to Social Equity applicants.
The law establishes the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) Program to address the impact of economic disinvestment, gun violence, and overuse of criminal justice responses to some communities, and with the goals of reducing poverty and violence and promoting employment infrastructure and capacity building in these communities.
The Act may be viewed at: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3992&ChapterID=35