Illinois just became the 11th state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana after Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the regulatory bill legislators passed in May.
Legal recreational marijuana sales will begin in Illinois on January 1, 2020, for residents 21 and over.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the governor and the bill’s sponsors are explicitly emphasizing the social equity components of the comprehensive measure, which will automatically expunge the records of those with arrests for possessions of 30 grams of marijuana and will also help minority communities become involved in the business.
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, around 770,000 cannabis-related cases will become eligible for expungement.
The new measure will also establish a grant program called “The Restore, Reinvest and Renew Program” to help communities affected by the War on Drugs, in addition to a $30 million low-interest loan program for qualified applicants who wish to start a licensed cannabis business.
Pritzker, who aggressively campaigned for legalizing marijuana, said the legislation brings an “overdue change to our state.”
“Signing this bill into law won’t undo the injustices of the past or make whole the lives that were interrupted. We can’t turn the clock back — but we can turn the page,” Pritzker said.
