Illinois lawmakers are considering proposals that could make ordering marijuana in a pot parlor as simple as requesting a gin and tonic in a bar, but the nonprofit group LEAD and other North Shore officials are trying to extinguish any chance the bills become law.
At a recent summit called “The Blunt Truth” for parents, educators and community leaders on the impact of recreational marijuana, LEAD Executive Director Andy Duran and other speakers summarized the proposed laws and outlined potential modifications.
Both bills—one in the state House of Representatives and the other in the state Senate—mirror each other, are in committee and will not get further consideration until next year, according to Duran.
“Commercialization has been proven to lead to significant increases in youth usage, and there is much evidence to suggest that it will adversely affect public health and safety,” said Duran after the meeting. “Providing increased access to a harmful and addictive substance is not the way to responsibly protect communities.”
If one of the bills becomes law in its current form, it will allow dispensaries where people 21 and over can buy up to 28 grams at a time, cultivation of up to five plants, and establishments where people can enter and consume marijuana, according to Danielle Franzese, LEAD’s director of policy and outreach.
Unlike medical marijuana, which limits the amount a patient can have within a particular timeframe, Franzese said, the proposed recreational law does nothing to keep someone from buying 28 grams, taking it home and going back for another 28 grams. Duran said 28 grams can make up to 55 marijuana cigarettes.
There is also nothing in the language of the bill that prohibits people under 21 from entering a store or consumption facility even though they cannot make purchases.
“You can keep minors out of a bar but not a consumption facility,” said Franzese.
One of the people at the summit was Lake County State’s Attorney Michael Nerheim, who opposes legalizing recreational use of marijuana and wants to see it remain a criminal offense.
“With all that we’re doing to stop abuse every day in Lake County we’re seeing an ever increasing problem with addiction,” said Nerheim. “The amount of revenue to be derived is not worth it.”
As the law is written, it will produce between $300 and $750 million a year in additional revenue for the state, according to state Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago), the author of the house bill.
“Marijuana prohibition, like alcohol prohibition, has failed,” said Cassidy in an email to DailyNorthShore. “Bringing marijuana into line with our taxation and regulation of other similar substances is simply good public policy.”
State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) wants to know more before making a judgment on the legislation but will not vote for it simply for the revenue.
“We need to listen to the medical and law enforcement experts who can give us advice,” said Morrison, who was not at the summit, in a DNS telephone interview later in the day. “Legalizing recreational marijuana simply to supplement state revenue is not a good reason.”
Home Rule Towns Can Opt Out
Local home rule communities such as Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Highland Park, Deerfield, Wilmette, Glenview and Northbrook can keep most marijuana facilities out of their towns, according to the proposed statute. The exclusion language does not include consumption facilities such as bars.
Cassidy said in states where recreational use is legal, such as Colorado, teen usage is on the decline.
“Teen usage, on the other hand, has actually begun to decrease in legalized states,” said Cassidy. “Drug dealers don’t check ID, while businesses are required to.”
Nerheim said he has seen different statistics, though he said they refer to the general population and are not exclusive to teens.
“When you look at Colorado you see an increase in crime,” said Nerheim.
Currently recreational marijuana is legal in eight states in varying degrees, though not all laws are fully in effect yet, according to BusinessInsider.com. In addition to Colorado they include Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Aaron Weiner, the director of addiction services at Linden Oaks Behavioral Health in Elmhurst, said in all those states marijuana became legal through voter referendum. Illinois would be the first to allow it legislatively. He said at the LEAD summit that people here could make a difference.
“No legislature has passed it and no governor has signed,” said Weiner. “Voters there made their decisions based on clever television commercials supporters spent a lot of money on. We can influence our legislators with action.”
Andy Duran of the LEAD Agency and his staff in 2016, from left: Danielle Franzese, director of policy and outreach, Christy Grum, director of operations, and Somali Patel, Speakup Coalition director, in LEAD’s exhibit “Hiding in Plain Sight”, that displays potential trouble signs in a teenager’s room. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER/JWC MEDIA