Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Illinois will see legal recreational marijuana eventually, according to one industry expert.
Chris Stone is the CEO of HCI Alternatives in Springfield. He said legal recreational marijuana became almost inevitable after Illinois lawmakers approved medical marijuana back in 2013.
"When you do a medical program, it's usually about five or six years before you implement a recreational program," Stone said.
While he expects a strong push toward legalization from lawmakers and advocates in the 2018 legislative session, since that is an election year, Stone said the best chances for success are likely to see lawmakers approve a recreational program in 2019 and start operations in 2020.
A new report also lists Illinois as one of the 15 states most likely to legalize marijuana next.
Stone said he'd like to think that lawmakers are changing how they view marijuana, but he said it's likely the hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax money that recreational marijuana could generate that will drive legalization.
"We live in a state that doesn't have, what I would consider, a balanced budget. It's probably $3 billion out of whack," Stone said. "We live in a state that hasn't had a capital bill to be able to build roads and bridges in almost 10 years. These are the things that definitely move the needle in terms of a recreational program, especially if you look at other states."
If you add marijuana sales, tourism dollars, and the money that police departments and jails would not have to spend on marijuana crimes, Stone said recreational marijuana could be worth $1 billion a year to the state of Illinois.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana expert: Legal weed inevitable in Illinois, likely soon | Statewide | ilnews.org
Author: Benjamin Yount
Contact: About ILNews.org | Site | ilnews.org
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: ilnews.org | Illinois News Network
Chris Stone is the CEO of HCI Alternatives in Springfield. He said legal recreational marijuana became almost inevitable after Illinois lawmakers approved medical marijuana back in 2013.
"When you do a medical program, it's usually about five or six years before you implement a recreational program," Stone said.
While he expects a strong push toward legalization from lawmakers and advocates in the 2018 legislative session, since that is an election year, Stone said the best chances for success are likely to see lawmakers approve a recreational program in 2019 and start operations in 2020.
A new report also lists Illinois as one of the 15 states most likely to legalize marijuana next.
Stone said he'd like to think that lawmakers are changing how they view marijuana, but he said it's likely the hundreds of millions of dollars a year in tax money that recreational marijuana could generate that will drive legalization.
"We live in a state that doesn't have, what I would consider, a balanced budget. It's probably $3 billion out of whack," Stone said. "We live in a state that hasn't had a capital bill to be able to build roads and bridges in almost 10 years. These are the things that definitely move the needle in terms of a recreational program, especially if you look at other states."
If you add marijuana sales, tourism dollars, and the money that police departments and jails would not have to spend on marijuana crimes, Stone said recreational marijuana could be worth $1 billion a year to the state of Illinois.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Marijuana expert: Legal weed inevitable in Illinois, likely soon | Statewide | ilnews.org
Author: Benjamin Yount
Contact: About ILNews.org | Site | ilnews.org
Photo Credit: Seth Perlman
Website: ilnews.org | Illinois News Network
