Lawmakers disapprove of hemp regulations and the expansion of medical marijuana

Illinois lawmakers have once again failed to act to keep dangerous cannabis products out of reach of children, prompting calls from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to regulate the industry.

The measure had bipartisan support and easily passed the Senate, but stalled in the House at the end of Wednesday’s legislative session. Divisions between factions in the cannabis business community have once again torpedoed the bill.

Pritzker called for regulation of cannabis products, which can be intoxicating and are widely sold without age restrictions.

“I believe that such an unregulated product, which has clearly caused some health problems, should be regulated by the state,” he said.

Hemp, defined as hemp containing less than 0.3% of delta-9 THC, the ingredient that produces a high, is legal under federal law. However, manufacturers have found ways to chemically obtain intoxicating by-products such as delta-8 and delta-9 THC, which are sold in vape shops and gas stations. As a result, in some cases, teenagers were hospitalized for overdoses.

“The current unregulated market harms equity license holders who have long worked to establish legal, well-regulated businesses,” said Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford. “As we move toward regulating hemp and delta-8 products, we must do so in a way that is fair and provides opportunities in a growing industry.”

Owners of unlicensed cannabis businesses feared that Lightford’s restrictions, while protecting cannabis beverage producers, would bankrupt many of them. Cannabis advocates have renewed calls for requiring product testing and labeling and setting the minimum age for customers at 21 or older, which they say responsible companies are already doing.

“It’s good to still be alive,” said Charles Wu, owner of Chi’Tiva, a cannabis grower and seller. “But the problems have not been solved. We want over-21 regulations and packaging and labeling standards, but there has never been a compromise.”

A separate controversy has arisen in the licensed cannabis industry over a sweeping “omnibus” bill that would allow all dispensaries to sell to medical patients without imposing a retail sales tax. Instead, patients will only be able to use the discount at the state’s 55 original medical practices.

This means both that the market favors the large, established companies that own most GP surgeries, and that some patients are left in rural clinic ‘deserts’ where they have to travel over 40km to get their products.

The proposal would also allow curbside pickup and drive-thru, remote health screenings over the Internet, lowering barriers for people with criminal records working in the industry and waiving some taxes on farmers and artisan growers.

The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, which represents many large companies, has supported both the anti-cannabis fight and the expansion of medical marijuana.

“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,” said Executive Director Tiffany Chappell Ingram. “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.”

The Cannabis Equity Coalition of Illinois has accused large Chicago-based cannabis company Green Thumb Industries (GTI) of lobbying against the development of medical dispensaries.

A nonprofit coalition that represents small business owners and advocates has called for a boycott of GTI products and Rise dispensaries, saying they are “under siege by corporate greed!”

The Illinois Association of Independent Craft Growers wrote a letter to the governor calling for the expansion of medical marijuana discounts to all dispensaries.

“GTI’s opposition to this change is an attempt to maintain a monopoly on the ability to offer tax breaks to medical card holders, preventing new and smaller clinics from entering the medical market, which limits competition and harms patients and local artisans,” he added. stated in the letter. “This has to end. Our lawmakers must focus on the 140,000 patients, not the companies that lobby the hardest.”

Green Thumb issued a statement in which it has always supported patient access to legal marijuana.

“We have a history of supporting patients, including leading advocacy efforts to ensure patients have access to their products during the pandemic, and most recently providing curbside pickup services to patients,” the statement read.

The proposed solution, HB 2911, GTI said, “included language that was neither operationally feasible nor comprehensive enough to address what Illinois patients deserve, such as requiring patient seating belts or offering delivery services. Illinois lawmakers have recognized these concerns and will continue to work on this issue with a view to passing it during the veto session (in the fall).