Where is the money from cannabis sales going?
In this Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, photo, cannabis is grown at Revolution Global's cannabis cultivation center in Delavan, Ill. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
Medical marijuana has been legal in Illinois since 2013, but it was only in 2020 that recreational use became legal, thanks to the Cannabis Regulation and Tax act, which made Illinois the first state to legalize marijuana through its legislature. Since recreational use became legal at the start of 2020, Illinoisans have spent more than $2 billion on cannabis. Plus, municipalities are allowed to levy extra sales taxes on top of the taxes already set by the state. One aspect of the legalization effort in the state has programs aimed at reinvesting in communities disproportionately affected by the drug’s previous prohibition and the war on drugs, and Illinois has created a program to reinvest in communities affected by violence and excessive incarceration.
To discuss this program and more, The 21st was joined by the president of an organization who received a grant from that program and a journalist who's been covering marijuana for the Chicago Sun Times.
GUESTS:
Tom Schuba
Chicago Sun Times reporter who covers marijuana
Jarmese Sherrod, Ph.D.
President & CEO of Sherrod’s Independent Mentoring Program (SIMP), Inc. | Professor of English, Richland Community College
Notably, $134.1 million of the $563 million is financing two programs aimed at investing in communities hardest hit by the drug war and funding mental health and drug treatment initiatives. https://t.co/F0TXX8VZMP
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) December 8, 2021
Prepared for web by Owen Henderson
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