Illinois Cannabis: Leading with Equity, Expanding Market, and Overcoming Challenges

In 2019, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize cannabis for adult use, and the first to establish a regulatory system for adult-use cannabis commerce through state legislation. Additionally, Illinois led the way by including a robust social equity program in its legalization efforts. MPP collaborated closely with bill sponsors and allies to achieve this historic milestone.

MPP's team of staff, contract lobbyists, and organizers were integral to the passage of the legislation. The bill set a precedent in equity, particularly in licensing, community reinvestment, and expungements.

Since legalization, Governor JB Pritzker's administration has expunged 492,129 cannabis-related arrests at the state level and pardoned over 20,000 convictions. This relief was part of the broader MPP-backed bill designed to address past injustices related to cannabis prohibition.

As of 2023, Illinois has become one of the largest cannabis markets in the country, with total sales nearing $2 billion. Adult-use cannabis tax revenue has even surpassed alcohol taxes.

Cannabis Tax Revenue Pours Back into Disadvantaged Communities

Illinois’ legalization law — the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act —  directs 25 percent of all cannabis tax revenue to support communities hurt by economic disinvestment, violence, and the disproportionate impact of the war on drugs. The program is called Restore, Reinvest, Renew, or “R3.”

On June 23, 2022, the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) announced $45 million in R3 grant funding to support 148 programs run by organizations in communities hardest hit by the failed war on drugs. R3 funds programs within these five areas: civic legal aid, economic development, reentry, violence prevention, and youth development. Communities eligible for funding were identified by rates of gun injuries, child poverty, unemployment and incarceration. 

The funds were disbursed in the 2023 calendar year and include approximately $40.5 million to support agencies providing service delivery and $4.5 million to support community planning and capacity building for future R3 funding.

Programs like Prairie State Legal Services, which provides free legal assistance for low-income clients dealing with non-criminal court cases, and Metropolitan Family Services, a non-profit that helps low-income and working poor families in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs qualified for R3. Community organizations can find more information on how to apply for R3 grants here.

Pritzker Administration Issues Next Round of Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses

On May 3, 2024, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued 35 new Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses. These licenses were awarded to applicants from the Social Equity Criteria Lottery (SECL) held in July 2023, reflecting Illinois' ongoing commitment to equity in the cannabis industry.

The recipients have one year to establish their dispensaries and secure final approval from IDFPR, with an option to apply for a 180-day extension. Only fully licensed dispensaries can begin sales.

IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. emphasized the state's dedication to diversity: “We look forward to working with today’s conditional licensees so they have every opportunity to earn full licensure and join Illinois’ equitable cannabis industry.”

Of the 55 applicants initially selected in the SECL, seven did not meet the licensing criteria. IDFPR will contact the next qualified applicants to ensure all licenses are awarded.

Illinois currently has 202 adult-use cannabis dispensaries, including 92 social equity dispensaries. Additionally, 108 applicants from the 2022 social equity lotteries are still working towards full licenses.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) recently closed applications for Direct Forgivable Loans to support conditional license holders, with updates on recipients and future loans forthcoming.

Illinois Updates Social Equity Forgivable Loan Program

As of June 2024, the second round of Illinois' Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program has concluded. Announced in February 2024 by Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), this round provided $12 million in Direct Forgivable Loans (DFL) to support qualified, licensed social equity dispensaries. Each loan, fully financed by the state, offered up to $240,000 to help these businesses establish and grow.

Governor Pritzker highlighted the program's focus on equity, aiming to assist entrepreneurs affected by the failed war on drugs with forgivable, low-interest loans. Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton emphasized the program's role in offering new opportunities for historically disinvested communities.

Building on the first round's success, which distributed $22 million to infusers, transporters, and craft growers, this second round targeted dispensaries licensed by the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) before the July 2023 lottery. DCEO Director Kristin Richards and Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer Erin Johnson noted that the streamlined application process and fully state-financed loan structure provided timely financial support.

Throughout this round, loans were prioritized based on social equity status, financial need, and progress toward operational readiness. The application window, which closed on April 17, 2024, saw robust participation, reflecting the program’s continued importance in promoting an equitable cannabis industry in Illinois.

State Funded Initiative Expunges Cannabis Convictions

Individuals could qualify for the automatic expungement of police records if they had an arrest as an adult for a “minor cannabis offense” (possession or dealing 30 grams or less) before June 25, 2019. At least one year needs to have passed since the arrest. Additionally, there should not have been any charges filed in court, or if there were, the charges must have been dismissed, vacated, or resulted in an acquittal. Furthermore, individuals must not have provided cannabis to someone under 18 who was at least three years younger than themselves, nor could they have been arrested for a violent crime in the same case as the cannabis charges.

If all criteria are met, the expungement of the police records occurs automatically without requiring the individual to file a petition or take additional legal steps.This process aims to clear the records of individuals with minor cannabis offenses, provided they meet specific criteria and have not engaged in more serious criminal activity in relation to the cannabis charges.

Organizations such as New Leaf Illinois, a state-funded network of several non-profit legal and advocacy organizations, help those with prior cannabis convictions and arrests for free. According to their website, the nonprofit has vacated and expunged 311 cannabis convictions while 183 non-conviction and other cannabis records have been expunged and sealed.

Illinois Senate Fails To Pass Workplace Protections for Cannabis Consumers

Illinois residents have been legally able to purchase and consume cannabis since the state’s adult-use market launched in January 2020. Unlike several other states, however, reform has not yet extended to protecting cannabis consumers in the workplace. 

House Bill 4116, sponsored by Rep. Bob Morgan (D) in 2021-2022, aimed to amend the Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act. Unfortunately, the bill died without getting out of committee in the Senate. The bill would have provided employers protection against cannabis consumption outside of office hours. Thus barring employers from taking disciplinary actions against cannabis usage, and not hiring applicants based solely on the premise of cannabis use. Unfortunately, no bills were even proposed to fix this injustice in the 2023-2024 legislative session.

The four Illinois lawmakers who sponsored equitable legalization, dubbed “marijuana moms” by NPR: Reps. Jehan Gordon-Booth and Kelly Cassidy and Sens. Heather Steans and Toi Hutchinson, who now serves as MPP’s president and CEO.

Please donate to MPP so that we can continue to enact and implement legalization policies at the state level. Illinois is a powerful reminder of what our movement can achieve when we have the resources needed to succeed.

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