Republican State Sen. Jason Barickman announced his support for recreational cannabis in Illinois, breaking with Gov. Bruce Rauner on the issue. Source: Peoria Public Radio The Ohio Department of Commerce was criticized in early December for allowing an individual with a felony drug conviction to judge cannabis business license applications. CannAscend CEO Jimmy Gould, the co-founder of ResponsibleOhio whose grower application was denied, is calling for a full review of the application process and has since launched a campaign to put the adult-use issue in front of voters in 2018. Source: cleveland.com Douglas Hiatt, a cannabis attorney who has represented longtime Washington State cannabis activist JoAnna McKee, remembers McKee after her passing. McKee founded Seattle’s first cannabis co-op, Green Cross Patient Co-Op, in 1993, five years before the state approved medical cannabis. She passed away on Nov. 18, 2017, at the age of 74. Source: AP A recently surfaced response from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, made this past summer at a private event with Justice Department interns-one of whom grilled him on the Department’s tough position on marijuana and lax priorities on gun control, when guns kill more people than cannabis. Source: ABC News
