Temporary Cannabis? The Pilot Program in Illinois PT 2
In my last post I went over a lot of the details of the Pilot Program: how to get your card, trustworthy sites to link you to help on getting your card, where the Program is at now in terms of statistics, and a little bit about the politics involved. For this update, I'd like to touch some more on the politics agenda, but I first must point out that I am by no means an expert on this subject with cannabis. Discussing politics is typically my least favorite thing to do, and for the most part, I try to ignore it as much as possible. With so many things changing with a new presidency, it is hard not to get involved and make sure the people who represent you, actually represent you!
If you live in Illinois, then you know that our system is a little funny. There are so many things corrupted that I can make several different blogs just focusing on the mayhem that brews here. In that case, you may ask why do I focus my attention on Cannabis then? Because I believe in my soul that if we do things right in this state, we can create something beautiful. Politicians like to throw around the term, "The Trickle Down Effect" and I would like to steal that phrase for the Cannabis Industry. But in this aspect, it will happen! If we make Recreational Cannabis legal for adult use in Illinois, it will bring in enough revenue to help fix some of the state's biggest problems. I don't know about you, but I would love to see Chicago Public Schools thrive once more, and have minorities released from jail over petty cannabis crimes. All of the promises that come with the legalization of Cannabis can happen here if the people speak up.
When the Pilot Program first launched in 2013, there was a group of people petitioning for numerous conditions to be added to the list qualifying conditions. This group was known as the Medical Advisory Board. They were a group of doctors and advocates that believed in our right to consume cannabis for medicinal purposes. When the program was about to sunset in 2017, Legislature crafted a bill that extended the Pilot Program until 2020. In addition to the extension of the program, other things were included too, like the decriminalization of up to 10 grams or less. However, Illinois' state Governor Bruce Rauner added his power of authority by dismantling the Medical Advisory Board in exchange for not vetoing the bill and adding two more conditions to the list. With the Medical Advisory Board's sacrifice, we now have PTSD and Terminal Illness added to that list. So, if you are reading this and were a member of that Board, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your hard work and sacrifices!
The fight for Cannabis does not stop there! We have more conditions being added to the list, which seems like it is forever growing! And with the March Primary rapidly approaching, it seems like the polls are leaning in favor of making cannabis legal for adult use over the age of 21. Now, it is up to us to make an appearance at these polls come March 20, so make sure you are registered to vote! To keep things steadily on the Cannabis Legalization we need a Democrat in office. In my opinion, I believe that Dem to be JB Pritzker. He has been vocal about medical cannabis and has even made appearances at Dispensaries.
My hope, is that with a Democratic Govorner, we will see an expanded list for qualifying conditions and reduced taxes for medical patients. There will be an open source of jobs and those seeking employment in the industry will have a better chance of attaining that career. I believe with a Dem Gov. that we will see recreational use legalized, but strict. I hope to see Illinois do this right. We don't have to be like Colorado or California, but I would love to see this state thrive. That only happens with job opportunities and revenue. I believe the Cannabis Industry will bring both of those things.
Fight for your right to medicate (properly), my friends! Now is the time! See you at the polls, and thanks for reading!
Posted by Kim RIot 1/24/2018
Important Links
Read Part One Here: https://www.theganjachronicles.com/blog/2018/1/16/temporary-cannabis-the-pilot-program-in-illinois
Public Act 099-0519: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=099-0519
Register to Vote: https://ova.elections.il.gov/
