* Elena Ferrarin at the Daily Herald…
Discussions about whether to allow recreational marijuana sales in the suburbs have ramped up in the last two weeks, and more suburbs are leaning in favor after early negativity this summer.
Elburn has voted to allow marijuana sales, and village boards in South Elgin, Pingree Grove and East Dundee plan to do the same after they decide on zoning regulations.
Arlington Heights, Elgin, Buffalo Grove, Lake in the Hills, St. Charles, Bartlett, Lombard, North Aurora, Island Lake and Wauconda have leaned toward “yes” to sales in their discussions so far. […]
There’s also the question of whether to allow marijuana “lounges,” or places where people can consume marijuana on premises. Elgin and South Elgin don’t want lounges, but East Dundee is OK with them.
* As subscribers already know, a veto session trailer bill will likely be narrow and technical in nature…
[Sen. Heather Steans, Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell and Sen. Jason Barickman] were in general agreement that “the law is the law,” and any other language involved in a trailer bill would be mostly technical in nature. For Mitchell, that means “not relitigating” issues already decided in the initial passage of the bill.
The deputy governor added industry concerns regarding advanced licenses for some existing medicinal marijuana dispensaries were clearly addressed in existing legislation. Mitchell also said concerns raised by municipalities regarding the enforcement of home-grown marijuana plants, which medicinal patients are legally allowed to possess, were also unlikely to be addressed in a trailer bill.
“What we have said to everyone is that the trailer bill for veto is going to be highly technical stuff that needs to change in order to ensure a smooth roll into January 1, (2020). It is not a forum to relitigate issues on which folks lost out negotiations,” he said.
* Bruce Rushton recently visited his father in Tacoma, Washington and filed this report…
The surest sign that pot is here to stay came when I spotted a flier at my father’s house advertising a medical marijuana tour that included lunch and a 10 percent discount for ladies. My father will be 86 on Sunday.
Instantly, I suspected dope pushers at the local senior center, and, sure enough, I was right. It turns out that the Tacoma parks department, which purports to care about old people, organizes annual tours of pot shops aimed at folks like my dad, who could just as easily could be your grandfather.
When she isn’t taking seniors to pot parlors, Bonnie Elliser, Fifty And Better recreation specialist for Metro Parks Tacoma, told me that she sets up bingo games as well as classes on jewelry making and painting and how to negotiate Medicare. The annual marijuana tour, she says, was a case of being asked by seniors she sees on a regular basis. “They didn’t want to go on their own,” Elliser tells me. “They just felt uncomfortable. There are a few that do have medical marijuana cards. The majority just want to get rid of their aches and pains.” Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked for my dad, who remains a poster child for proper Oxycodone use.
* Make that money…
The historic hub of black culture on the south side of Chicago called Bronzeville bears the marks of disinvestment, white flight and redlining common to many of the city’s black-majority neighborhoods.
Along the expansive South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, lines of greystones alternate in and out of disrepair, and many of the district’s blocks that were once home to vibrant institutions — earning it the name “Black Metropolis” — are now mottled with overgrown, vacant lots. A census tract within the area is one of the poorest in the city.
But for Seke Ballard and Seun Adedeji, the area is ripe for reinvestment because — not in spite — of it being disadvantaged.
In late June, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a law legalizing the recreational use of cannabis that lowers the barrier of entry to the industry for places like Bronzeville and its residents who have been disproportionately harmed by past cannabis laws and poverty. It takes effect Jan. 1.
* More money…
Come Jan. 1, it will be legal to purchase and possess recreational marijuana in Illinois. And as the new year gets closer, several Chicago cannabis startups are beginning to imagine what the future holds for them under the new law. […]
Chicago startup Fyllo recently raised $16 million to grow its business, which helps cannabis companies deliver ad campaigns that are compliant with state and federal regulations.
Other Chicago cannabis startups whose business is likely to grow once recreational marijuana is legalized in Illinois include CannaFundr, an online investment marketplace for companies in the weed industry, and Leaf Trade, a B2B SaaS enterprise software startup for cannabis companies.
“[Legalizing recreational marijuana] is going to be great for not only the individuals, but the small businesses,” said Gavin of CannaTrac. “These [companies] are going to have the ability to do stuff that they couldn’t before. They’ve been waiting a really long time to make money.”
* Related…
* Free marijuana conviction expungement clinic, job fair happening Sunday
* At Issue: Growing Demand For Drug-Case Expungements
* As marijuana legalization nears, those who left crime behind hope to clear their records: The governor’s office estimated that roughly 700,000 criminal cases could be cleared, making it easier for those people to get jobs and housing. Any cases associated with a violent crime would not be eligible.
* Pittsfield council approves 3% cannabis tax: “Whether we allow it to be sold here or not, somebody is going to allow it, and somebody is going to be selling it,” [Pittsfield Mayor John Hayden] said. “It is still going to end up here. We might as well benefit from the sale of it.”
* Chicago’s 11 Weed Dispensaries Wouldn’t Need New Permit To Sell Recreational Pot Jan. 1 Under Mayor’s Plan
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 11:16 am:
So exciting to watch the marijuana industry begin to flower, to bud, so to speak.
- Rabid - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 11:26 am:
Need some smoking truck lounges mixed in with the food trucks
- 47th Ward - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 11:28 am:
This recurring theme always brings to mind this classic:
“Cheer up, Brian. You know what they say.
Some things in life are bad,
They can really make you mad.
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you’re chewing on life’s gristle,
Don’t grumble, give a whistle
And this’ll help things turn out for the best
And
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the bright side of life”
- JS Mill - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 11:36 am:
= Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked for my dad, who remains a poster child for proper Oxycodone use.=
The Sackler family thanks you.
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 11:49 am:
Does anyone have a guess?…how much an ounce of legal pot will cost …on January 2…after a potential run out on January 1…?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 12:14 pm:
===always brings to mind this classic===
If life seems jolly rotten,
There’s something you’ve forgotten!
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing,
When you’re feeling in the dumps,
Don’t be silly chumps,
Just purse your lips and whistle — that’s the thing!
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 1:04 pm:
As a completely mood altering substance free non-user I find this whole movement quite entertaining. It’s as if weed is going to be the magic we all need to eliminate our debt and help us all feel real good. It will be interesting to see what unintended consequences arise as a result of this headlong dash to dope. I just know that I don’t want to smell it in any public venues. I still have hazy memories of the sickening smell of pot at most rock concerts in Chicago venues in the 70’s. Bags of the stuff being passed down the aisle.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 1:13 pm:
===It’s as if weed is going to be the magic we all need to eliminate our debt and help us all feel real good===
Literally nobody is saying that. Try not to argue like a child.
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 1:35 pm:
Bags of the (stinky) stuff being passed down the aisle.
LOL…that was me handing out free weed?…it’s free?…by the “bag”…C’mon Dude…get some new bait?…yours has gone weak.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 1:57 pm:
“headlong dash to dope“
Marijuana has been with us for decades, and the headlong dashes have been straight to the massive and sometimes murderous black market.
“eliminate our debt and help us all feel real good”
But how about if it helps us feel better about debt? Why just suffer in futility?
“sickening smell of pot at most rock concerts in Chicago venues in the 70’s“
Ah, the good old days, when arenas had clouds of smoke—when decadence was decadence.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 1:59 pm:
===the good old days, when arenas had clouds of smoke===
Been to a Phish concert?
- a drop in - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 2:18 pm:
“As a completely mood altering substance free non-user… ”
Never consume chocolate?
- 47th Ward - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 2:18 pm:
===I don’t want to smell it in any public venues===
For life is quite absurd,
And death’s the final word.
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin — give the audience a grin,
Enjoy it, it’s the last chance anyhow.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 2:25 pm:
===I don’t want to smell it in any public venues===
And I want you to give me a billion dollars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv9sDn_2XkI
- revvedup - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 2:58 pm:
I wonder if everybody pushing for legalization knows about this condition called cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, where you can’t stop vomiting: https://www.saintlukeskc.org/health-library/cannabinoid-hyperemesis-syndrome. But the State will still take the tax revenue, thank you.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 3:05 pm:
===I wonder if everybody pushing for legalization knows about this condition called cannabis hyperemesis syndrome===
LOL
Some super-rare “syndrome” that disappears 24 hours after you quit smoking. Wow. Try harder.
If you’re gonna ban cannabis over a teeny tiny handful of cases identified worldwide, you’d best start banning cars first.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 3:11 pm:
===where you can’t stop vomiting===
I’ve had that before, except mine came from peppermint schnapps in high school.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 3:17 pm:
===mine came from peppermint schnapps in high school===
Cherry vodka here. I cannot even think of that brutish formula without getting sick.
- @misterjayem - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 3:33 pm:
Two sheets of peanutbutter cookies.
A youthful misadventure.
– MrJM
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 3:45 pm:
It was Robin Hood wine for me …aged sixty days…guaranteed…Can you smell that smelll…Ooooh…..here it comes…again.
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 4:05 pm:
Never seen a case of hypervomiting from marijuana use, and I’ve been around a bit (not to minimize it). When compared with tobacco, alcohol and guns, it makes no sense to keep marijuana illegal. Black market violence is quite lethal.
- Maryjane - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 4:20 pm:
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect:
” I still have hazy memories of the sickening smell of pot at most rock concerts in Chicago venues in the 70’s. Bags of the stuff being passed down the aisle. ”
Wow, how very. I would have loved to have seen Pink Floyd on the Dark Side of the Moon tour.
- Bruce Rushton - Monday, Sep 23, 19 @ 4:59 pm:
==The Sackler family thanks you==
Don’t even go there–this Trib story says it as well as any other:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/ct-living-in-chronic-pain-opioid-use-essay-20190713-qkh4jjsdm5gtxgc6452tseljce-story.html
- Lynn S. - Tuesday, Sep 24, 19 @ 12:59 am:
Add me to the list of folks whose youthful indiscretions included cherry vodka.
Thanks to that episode, I really won’t consider anything that has artificial cherry flavoring. I still like fresh cherries, though.