Headline Roundup • June 25th, 2019
Illinois Becomes Eleventh State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Featured Coverage of this Story
Chicago Tribune
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed into law a bill that will legalize marijuana in Illinois next year, marking a momentous shift in how the state treats drug use.
The bill will allow the licensed growth, sales, possession and consumption of cannabis for adults 21 and older.
The signing ceremony, attended by several lawmakers, officeholders and marijuana supporters, took place at the Sankofa Cultural Arts & Business Center in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
Pritzker called the legislation a “sea change” for Illinois, saying that the war on drugs has destroyed families...
Chicago Sun-Times
Recreational marijuana is now roughly six months away from being legal across Illinois.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill into law Tuesday.
That means residents 21 and over will be able to buy marijuana at dispensaries as soon as Jan. 1.
Illinois now joins 10 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
In Vermont and Washington, D.C., cannabis possession and cultivation is legal but sales are not regulated. Illinois and Vermont both legalized the drug through the legislative process, and not via a ballot initiative.
Fox News Digital
Illinois on Tuesday became the 11th state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for recreational use after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill that permits residents to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis at a time and non-residents up to 15 grams.
The move, which fulfills one of Pritzker’s campaign promises, also implements the nation’s first comprehensive statewide cannabis marketplace designed by legislators. It also means that nearly 800,000 people with criminal records for purchasing or possessing 30 grams of marijuana or less may have those records...
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