Illinois

Published: Sep 8, 2017, 8:22 am • Updated: Sep 8, 2017, 8:22 am By Tribune News Service, The Cannabist Staff After years of firm opposition from the Indiana Statehouse, the tides may be turning on the issue of legalizing medical …

Published: Aug 7, 2017, 3:12 pm • Updated: Aug 7, 2017, 3:12 pm By James McClure, Civilized Your favorite raunchy party game is now the newest combatant in the fight to repeal cannabis prohibition in America. Yesterday, the makers of …

There’s a battle brewing in the state of Arkansas over the right to bear arms while having a medical marijuana card. The duel between state law versus the federal law of the land is not new, Illinois has also issued …

CBD, which stands for the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (not cannabinoids), has exploded on the cannabis scene in a way that no other natural compound has. Although it has received a huge amount of media attention over the past few years, there …

Illinois could become the first state on the outskirts of Middle America to establish a fully legal cannabis trade. According to a report from DNA Info, two lawmakers intend to push legislation at the beginning of next year aimed at …

Marijuana plants.

According to data from the last three years recently published in the 2017 Marijuana Business Factbook, the average startup cost for a large-scale wholesale cannabis grow-op is $42 per square foot.  However, the actual startup costs also end up varying based on a number of factors. Outdoor and combination methods of cultivation tend to cost between $10 and $17 per square foot, and greenhouse grow setups average at $50 per square foot.

The nation is slowly, but surely turning ganja green.

As of now, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon are all part of the growing list of states leading the legalization campaign. But Illinois may also be getting in on the fun, and you have two Democrats (of course) to thank for paving the groundwork to make it happen.

In Illinois, Senator Heather Steans and Representative Kelly Cassidy are putting in the work to get the ball rolling by introducing a bill to legalize marijuana (Senate Bill 316 and House Bill 2353).

As cannabis legalization slowly sweeps across the nation, politicians have started to take notice of the massive tax revenue raked in by Colorado, and some are starting to consider the recreational market as a way to alleviate financial woes. Illinois is one state that could definitely use the influx of cash that is generated through marijuana cultivation and sales. 

With a current budget deficit of $9 billion, state representatives have recently started concocting a plan to work recreational legalization into the law. Back in March, lawmakers introduced legislation that would create a regulated cannabis industry in Illinois.

(Photo courtesy Flickr.com/gageskidmore)


A bipartisan group of House Democrats and Republicans recently hashed out a $1 trillion budget for government spending, but none of which will be used to crack down on legal pot.
A new government funding bill will block the Department of Justice from using federal funds to prosecute law-abiding medical marijuana companies operating in legal states, reports the Orange County Register.
The budget’s full text of the marijuana provision is as follows:
None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to any of the States