SPRINGFIELD – On the last day of the regular session, the Illinois House joined the Senate in voting to legalize marijuana in a 66 to 47 vote and send it on to the Governor's desk, making Illinois the 11th state to follow the growing trend.
Three Republican House members – Lindsey Parkhurst, Allen Skillicorn and David Welter – voted with the Democrat majority. Their three votes gave more leeway to Democrats in conservative-leaning swing districts to vote no, including state Reps Fred Crespo, Anthony DeLuca, Mary Edly-Allen, Marty Moylan (who argued against the measure), and Susan Scherer. State Rep Mary Flowers, in a solid Democrat district, also voted against the measure. GOP state Rep. Skillicorn also signed on as a co-sponsor of HB 1836.
The legislation, House Bill 1438, allows for the recreational use of cannabis by individuals over the age of 21. In addition, Illinois citizens can possess up to 30 grams of cannabis and out of state individuals may possess up to 15 grams, and medical cannabis patients can grow up to 5 plants in their residence. The legislation would also expunge arrest records for possession of cannabis up to 30 grams and for convictions for possession of up to 30 grams, the Governor will pardon those individuals.
State Representative Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) did not vote in favor of the legislation and released the following statement:
“As a lawmaker and as a father, I have grave concerns about the message this sends our children. Beyond the health concerns I have, there are also issues with public safety and workforce safety. Our law enforcement agencies do not support this. They are not ready for this and don’t have the capabilities to enforce this. This bill undermines our efforts to make our state safer and will put a greater burden on our social service agencies. As we’ve heard from residents of other states, Illinois is making a big mistake in failing to recognize the unintended consequences of legalization.”
State Representative Steve Reick (R-McHenry) said:
“I am not conceptually against the idea of legalizing recreational marijuana, but I could not support the legislation as it was presented to us on Thursday. If our goal is to destroy the illegal street market and ensure a safer product while not increasing overall usage of marijuana, I believe we’re on the wrong path. By putting production and sales into the hands of companies that succeed or fail based on their ability to expand the market for their product, we are setting the stage for increased use of cannabis. A better path, in my opinion, would be to issue licenses for production and sale to non-profit entities with boards that protect public health and charters that limit their mission to meeting existing demand.”
Reick said legalizing a for-profit industry is a one-way street. "Once we do it there will be no going back and we run the risk of opening up a whole set of new problems. Prudence dictates that we learn to walk before we start to run," he said. "I want to see the black market for cannabis shut down as much as anyone, and I believe a well-constructed and enforced regulatory scheme that limits its reach would be a better option. If our true intent is to derail the illegal market, there’s no reason to rush the process. If it’s not about the money, let’s do this the right way and legalize the product without increasing usage.”
