SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Two Chicago area lawmakers say it’s time Illinois seriously considers legalizing personal use of marijuana, noting the “success” other states such as Colorado have had since they legalized and taxed the drug.

 

However, the cosponsors of the bills filed in both chambers of the state legislature, Democrat Sen. Heather Steans and Rep. Kelly Cassidy, say it isn’t their intent to seek full votes before the current session is scheduled to adjourn May 31 – but to ask for committee hearings so lawmakers begin to discuss the issue. “Sometimes with significant issues like this it may take more time for debate, discussion – that’s all,” Cassidy said.

 

According to the proposal, residents would be allowed to possess up to 28 grams of marijuana, which is roughly an ounce, as well as to grow up to five plants solely for personal use.

 

Sales of the product by individuals would continue to be prohibited. The state and several of its agencies, with the Illinois Department of Agriculture at the center of any program, would license and regulate the businesses that would be allowed to grow, processand sell the plant. The state also would establish safety regulations that would include testing and the development of label requirements.

 

As part of the state’s medical marijuana program begun in 2015, there now are 19 cultivation centers throughout Illinois that grow marijuana for sale to patients with health conditions approved by state officials. Twice as many dispensaries exist under the program, where patients purchase the finished products.

 

GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner has indicated, as part of talks to launch the medical marijuana program, that he likely would not favor recreational legalization of marijuana. The two Chicago Democrat leaders in the Houseand Senate – Speaker Mike Madigan and President John Cullerton, respectively – have not indicated where they each stand on the issue. Tax revenue generated from marijuana sales is one of the driving forces behind the proposal, the bill’s sponsors said. Steans explained people who seek out marijuana are doing so now illegally, without governments benefiting from legal sales.

 

“If we bring this out in the open, we can generate revenue legally rather than for the black market,” she said. Cassidy believes prohibition creates far more problems than it prevents. “Regulating marijuana and removing the criminal element from marijuana production and sales will make our communities safer,” she said. Illinois remains locked in a budget stalemate that has left the state without a spending plan for nearly 23 months, with a backlog of unpaid bills likely to exceed $13 billion by the end of the current fiscal year on July 1.  

The measure would tax marijuana at $50 per ounce wholesale, similar to what exists in Colorado, one of eight states that have legalized recreational use.

 

Based on that rate, Illinois could expect to take in between $350 million-$700 million annually in tax revenue, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy group.