by: Paul R. Benson
On Monday, February 18, 2019, State Representative Carol Ammons and State Senator Scott Bennet hosted a panel on marijuana legalization in Illinois. The panel was held in Senator Bennet’s office on the fourth floor of the Illinois terminal.
Many different people attended the panel. Champaign County State Attorney, Julia Rietz was there as a panelist; County Clerk, Aaron Ammons was moderating the panel; Champaign city Mayor, Deb Feinen and Council member, Matthew Gladney were there; State Senator, Heather Steans spoke on the legislative panel; C-U Public Health Administrator, Julie Pryde spoke as a panelist; and Champaign County Circuit Clerk, Katie M. Blakeman was there also.
The event started with Scott Bennet introducing important public figures. Afterwards, Carol Ammons took the mic to introduce the discussion of regulating and taxing marijuana. Carol Ammons said, “This is one of the most pressing things that will happen in my legislative career.” Which set the focus for the panel to be about how we are going to tax and regulate marijuana as if it’s inevitably going to be legalized.
One of the hottest topics on marijuana legalization is where the new influx of tax money will go for the state of Illinois. Saferillinois.org estimates marijuana tax revenue in Illinois to be over 350 million dollars. Carol Ammons said that she wants to invest some of the tax revenue back into community-based investments. Ammons said, “I did not want communities of color left out of the economic question of marijuana regulation. And so, I introduced house bill 902, which is designed to increase diversity, equity, and accountability around the issue of regulation of marijuana and adult use.” Ammons also said, “In my bill it deals with the expungement of records and the release of people who may be incarcerated for cannabis related offenses.” According to the American Civil Liberties Union article, Marijuana Arrests By The Numbers, “Despite roughly equal usage rates, blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.” The social justice aspect to marijuana legalization cannot be ignored. It would be a slap in the face to legalize marijuana just to have one white business owner monopolize growing and cultivating a majority of the crops.
One of the panelists, Dan Linn, executive director of the Illinois chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), had this to say about home growers of marijuana, “In my opinion, if people can legally purchase this plant product and this natural material, but they can’t grow it and provide it for themselves, we’re not actually legalizing cannabis. We’re just giving a handout to businesses to be able to make money for this stuff.” A majority of the audience clapped.
While a majority of people seemed to support legalization of marijuana, there were a few outliers, mostly older white men afraid of the impact marijuana legalization would have on the community. Things got a little heated. One gentleman spent a long time explaining how long marijuana stays inside the system until Aaron Ammons asked him to ask a question. He blurted out, “Why would we sponsor… it’s a gateway drug!” Some people groaned and the person behind the man speaking blurted out in laughter and started slowly clapping. Danielle Schumacher, CEO of THC Staffing Group, responded to these comments, “It’s not addictive, it’s absolutely not addictive” The man who asked the question swatted at the air as if to dismiss what Schumacher said. A majority of the rest of the people clapped to Schumacher’s defense of safe marijuana use.
One of the big concerns that the older white men had with legalization was on how police officers would be able to test illegally intoxicated drivers. State Attorney, Julia Rietz, explained that, though, there is a way to train police officers to test for marijuana impairment, there is no convenient test to determine how impaired a driver is by marijuana without taking them to the hospital. Part of the marijuana tax revenue is directed towards training law enforcement on testing for drug impairment. It could be argued that the legalization of marijuana would make roads safer, since officers will be trained to test for more than just alcohol impairment.
There were many important and well-structured questions that were asked at the panel and there were also questions that seemed to be straight out of an episode of Parks and Recreation. A lot was discussed within the two-hour time frame. The topic of marijuana legalization is still a controversial topic in Illinois, but according to saferillinois.org, the majority of people are for legalization. For those interested in learning more about or supporting marijuana legislation, visit Saferillinois.org.
