Illinois lawmakers have failed to pass legislation to ensure reform of cannabis and hemp laws

The lawmaker also introduced a bill that would make significant changes to the highly regulated state of the cannabis industry.

House Bills 2911 – the Cannabis Act – and House Bill 4293 – the Cannabis Act – were sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Hillside.

The bills passed the Senate last weekend but did not advance to the House before members left early Wednesday morning for the summer.

The hemp measure would regulate the product in a similar way to how cannabis is regulated in terms of taxation, possession limits, testing and age restrictions, but would prohibit the sale of hemp-derived products such as delta-8 by any business except licensed cannabis dispensaries .

It would also allow certain retailers and manufacturers licensed under the Alcohol Control Act to sell cannabis-infused beverages until January 20, 2025. Regulations would apply for artisan growers and processors, so customers would know what’s in the products they buy and consume. .

However, the state’s cannabis industry has spoken out fiercely against Lightford’s legislation since Lightford’s proposal, saying it would put many of them out of business.

This seemed to be the main reason for the bill’s failure in the House. Several lawmakers were more sympathetic to the industry’s concerns.

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation that would impose lighter regulations on the industry and, at least they say, allow it to remain open. Ford opposes the Lightford Act.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, sponsor of the Lightford Act in the House, said he “looks forward to the next steps in this important legislative process.”

“The fact that HB 4293 failed to pass the House before the final gavel this week should not be viewed as a lack of willingness to regulate hemp products,” Buckner said. “Rather, it reflects our commitment to precision and expediency in developing regulations that effectively address the complexity of this issue.”

While non-intoxicating products made with extracted cannabidiols can still be sold, many people have raised concerns about the extremely low limit in the Lighford Act.

“For the past three years, we have worked with members of the General Assembly and the growing cannabis industry to push for regulations that protect consumers,” said Corynn Bradley, a representative of the therapeutic cannabis industry. “However, this proposal would instead ban the entire existing cannabis industry in Illinois. Supporters say this bill is intended to regulate hemp, but the reality is that it will regulate the hemp industry. The conclusion is that it is a ban.”

Despite the opposition, Lightford insisted it would not be a ban and that there would be no problem as long as the cannabis industry did what it was supposed to do.

“If the industry stayed on its hemp track, we wouldn’t have a problem,” Lightford said during a committee hearing earlier this month. “…We don’t want him to create intoxicating products.”

Lightford also said the lack of regulation puts many minors at risk due to the dangerous effects of delta-8.

“We have tried to address everyone’s concerns, but we cannot deny that there are parents across the state who continue to receive calls that no one wants to answer,” Lightford said. “Call that their child had ingested delta-8 THC and was being transported to the hospital.”

During a press conference Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker echoed Lightford’s concerns, saying he believes the industry should be regulated.

“I believe that such an unregulated product that has clearly caused some health problems should be regulated by the state,” Pritzker said. “I would not go into detail about how the implementation of individual parts of the regulation works. I’m no expert, but I’d say it’s clear that it’s not intended for medicinal purposes, it’s not regulated like cannabis, and yet it ends up on the market. There are no limits on who gets it and how much they can get… so I really think we need to step back and ask what’s in the best interest of the health of children and adults across the state, and I think regulating it is the right thing to do.”

Cannabis regulations have also failed to cross the finish line.

During last weekend’s Senate debate, Lightford said House Bill 2911 would address many of the problems the cannabis industry has faced since the state legalized recreational marijuana use in 2019, and includes 14 different provisions designed to address those issues.

Among those provisions are adding curbside pickup and drive-through windows at all dispensaries, expanding the craft producer space to 14,000 square feet, creating a new consolidated license for the transportation center, and allowing patients to prescribe medical marijuana via telehealth. The bill also requires all cannabis testing facilities to be licensed, eliminates unnecessary labor requirements to reduce regulatory burdens, and eliminates the requirement for odor-resistant cannabis containers.

Additionally, the bill would remove the list of excluded crimes that prohibit employment in a medical marijuana facility. Allows the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to use a lottery system to award social equity grants and loans to individuals wishing to own and operate dispensaries. It also gives the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture the authority to standardize the employee ID system.

“Legalizing marijuana was a monumental achievement, but it was just the beginning of a much broader journey,” Lightford said. “As we celebrate this progress, we must also acknowledge that several key steps are still needed to ensure that the benefits of legalization are fully realized and equitably distributed. With any massive piece of legislation, there are sometimes loopholes and unnoticed consequences that need to be addressed at a later date.

Lightford said the legislation also requires the Department of Agriculture to maintain a list of dispensary organizations that do not pay craft growers, infusers or growers of cannabis they intend to sell at their dispensaries that do not pay for goods or services – similar to how state alcohol laws operate.

It also establishes standards and market protections against unfair business practices and expands requirements for HVAC equipment. The legislation also updates the medical crop tax section and other income tax regulations.

While Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said in a May 26 statement that the organization supported most of the bill, she added that the association was disappointed that the bill’s sponsor removed a provision that would have extended sales of marijuana drugs to all licensed clinics.

“While there are many provisions in this legislation that we applaud, such as additional support for equity license holders and needed flexibility for carriers, we are disheartened that this solution will no longer allow sales to medical patients in all practices,” he said Chappell Ingram. .

Ford, the house sponsor of HB 2911, did not respond to a request for comment.

Chappell Ingram said Wednesday in an emailed statement that CBAI is disappointed in the House for not passing the bills, but echoed Buckner and said the organization looks forward to continuing conversations with lawmakers.

“We are disappointed that the House has not passed necessary reforms to our state’s cannabis laws, and we will continue to allow synthetic cannabis products that offend children and adults to be sold without oversight,” Chappell Ingram said. “Despite the overwhelming bipartisan support for these measures in the Senate, there is clearly more work to be done to educate lawmakers on these important issues.”

Talks are expected to continue in the summer, and the issues could be raised again during the fall veto session in November.