* From the newly introduced cannabis legalization bill in the eligibility for expungement section…
“Minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act” means one or more arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation (as defined in subsection (a)(1)(J)) for a Class 4 felony or misdemeanor violation of Section 4, 5, or 8 of the Cannabis Control Act, provided that (i) the individual did not receive a penalty enhancement under Section 7 of the Cannabis Control Act and (ii) the minor violation of the Cannabis Control Act was the only offense associated with the arrest, charge not initiated by arrest, conviction, order of supervision, or order of qualified probation to be expunged.
* So, keep that in mind when reading this. The House Speaker admits he hasn’t yet been briefed on the bill and the author of this story apparently didn’t realize this goes beyond convictions…
Madigan said there are several issues regarding marijuana legalization that will be “very important” when trying to rack up the 60 votes needed in the House to pass the bill.
That includes expunging criminal records for those with lower-level marijuana-related convictions and who will be entitled to get licenses to grow and process marijuana in Illinois. […]
“The key on that (expungement) issue is how far do you go in terms of the expungement?” Madigan said. “If you’re talking about some teenager who’s doing drugs and who’s only guilty of possession, that’s one thing. If you’re talking about people who are actually in the business, that were dealers, and you want to expunge those records, that’s a different case.”
For his part, Madigan said he is attempting to work with all the participants to see how to resolve the issues.
A little bit of context is required here. If this proposal passes, companies will be legally selling thousands of pounds of cannabis a year. The bill’s expungement language would apply to up to 500 grams (with no additional charges), which is barely over a single pound. That could very well be changed if people get nervous, but it doesn’t seem right to keep people locked up for stuff that others are doing under cover of law.
* Back to Madigan…
Madigan said the decision process for which businesses will receive new licenses would affect the vote as well.
“Among the minorities in the Legislature, they would argue that there oughta be some leg up for minorities in terms of licenses to cultivate or be a dispenser. Here again, language will be important in terms of finding 60 people to vote for the bill,” Madigan said. […]
The governor budgeted for $170 million in new revenues next fiscal year from licensing fees associated with legalization.
…Adding… I forgot about this video…
At the end, he talks about opposition to the bill…
And then you’ll have many people who are concerned about the opioid crisis, who feel that in light of that this is not a good time to be legalizing the use of marijuana.
Um. What? Those sorts of red herring excuses could be dragged out at any time in history and he really should know better.
