Gov.-Elect J.B. Pritzker campaigned on a platform to end cannabis prohibition in Illinois, often emphasizing the ways legalization could benefit minority communities that have been ravaged by the drug war and largely left out of the state’s budding cannabis industry.
But some black leaders have been slow to endorse the Pritzker-backed legalization effort that’s being spearheaded by state Sen. Heather Steans and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy. The Chicago Democrats plan to introduce a new bill to legalize marijuana when lawmakers reconvene in Springfield next month.
“Clarity is really important,” said state Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, joint chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. “We do not want to find ourselves in the position where we’re just generating revenue—which is terribly needed. We’re creating a new statute that I believe I could support provided that it has parameters in place that are clear and understood among state’s attorneys, judges, law enforcement and the community.”
