Governor Pritzker To Sign Recreational Weed Bill Into Law Today
Governor Pritzker campaigned on it, and today at a news conference in Chicago, he plans on signing recreational marijuana into law.
The Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act (CRTA) makes Illinois the 11th state to legalize cannabis and the second to legalize cannabis possession through the legislative process rather than by referendum. The signing of the bill also makes Illinois the first to legalize retail sales legislatively.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has scheduled a legislation-signing ceremony Tuesday morning in Chicago. His staff listed the event on his schedule released late Monday night.
The law would allow residents to purchase and possess up to 1 ounce (30 grams) of usable marijuana at a time. Nonresidents could have 15 grams. Up to five privately home-grown plants would be allowed for personal use, but only for patients approved for the existing medical marijuana program.
Ten states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. Legislation to legalize it in New York and New Jersey this spring fizzled. Discussions in Pennsylvania never got off the ground.