Lawmakers failed to consider legislation to legalize and regulate the adult use and retail sale of cannabis this legislative session.
House Bill 4276, the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act, would have permitted those over the age of 21 to legally possess up to 30 grams of cannabis and/or to engage in the home cultivation of marijuana for non-commercial purposes (up to eight plants at any one time.) Adults would have been permitted to possess the full harvest from their plants and would not be subject to any taxation or commercial fees for engaging in home cultivation.
Existing criminal penalties involving the possession or cultivation of marijuana above these limits would have also been significantly reduced by HB 4276.
House Bill 4276 would additionally have established regulations governing a state-licensed market for the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis to adults. These activities would be subject to taxation. Thirty percent of all tax revenue generated by these taxes is designated to the Board of Education while another 10 percent is designated to address youth drug education and prevention services.
Passage of this measure would have eliminated nearly 50,000 annual marijuana possession arrests while raising revenue and bolstering the state economy.
NORML would like to thank those of you who contacted your state lawmakers in support of this legislation.
For more information on this or other pending legislation, please contact Illinois NORML or follow them on Facebook.
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws – Advocacy Campaigns
