J.B. Pritzker (D)
Illinois
| Took Office | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Term Expires | 2022 |
2019 Enacted Legislation
Governor Pritzker signed into law House Bill 1438 (aka the cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act), which regulates the production, use, and retail sale of cannabis by adults. It also facilitates the automatic expungement of low-level marijuana convictions, decriminalizes home cultivation by adults, and legalizes personal cultivation for qualified patients. Governor Pritzker is the first elected official to ever sign comprehensive, adult-use marijuana legalization into law. (Similar laws in other states had all been enacted via voter initiative). (Link)
The Governor also signed several separate bills expanding the state’s medical cannabis access law. Senate Bill 2023 adds new qualifying conditions to the access program and permits physicians assistants to issue medical marijuana recommendations. Senate Bill 455 permits qualified patients to access certain medicinal cannabis products while on school grounds.
2019 Vetoed Legislation
None
Comments
On December 31, Gov. Pritzker’s office issued over 11,000 pardons to those with low-level marijuana convictions. (Link)
"The purpose of this legislation is not to immediately make cannabis widely available or to maximize product on the shelves. Instead, the defining purpose of legalization is to maximize equity." (Link)
"[W]hen you’re buying an illegal product from an illegal seller, that illegal seller is also selling other illegal drugs. And so I think the availability of cannabis is making it safer for families for for people who are looking to consume, because they can go to a regulated dispensary and purchase a well manufactured product that is safe." (Link)