Cup your hand and tuck that lighter inside your palm: Legal weed is coming to the Windy City.
On Tuesday, Governor J.B. Pritzker made good on one of his signature campaign promises and signed a bill bringing recreational weed to Illinois. Like recent—failed—attempts at legalization in progressive states like New Jersey and New York, the bill was framed as a "reset" of the war on drugs. Among other provisions, it was slated to expunge the records of as many as 800,000 people who have been convicted for purchasing or possessing up to 30 grams of cannabis. It also vowed to pump 25 percent of the tax revenue reaped from commercial sales into historically impoverished neighborhoods, and attempted to systematically encourage minority ownership of licensed pot dispensaries.
What can people in Illinois look forward to?
Under the new regime—the law was set to take effect on January 1—if you're a resident, you will be able to buy up to 30 grams of weed. If you're not, you can only have half of that (up to 15 grams), and you'll theoretically have to smoke or eat it all before you skip town.
With the bill's passage, Illinois became the 10th state (along with D.C.) to legalize recreational weed, and only the second to do so by way of legislation, instead of popular referendum. More importantly, the law amounted to what experts and advocates described as the most progressive and carefully structured attempt at legalization to date—one that could have ripple effects on drug markets and addiction treatment throughout the Midwest.