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1US Il: Legal Weed Sales Begin In IllinoisThu, 02 Jan 2020
Source:USA Today (US) Author:Hauck, Grace Area:Illinois Lines:Excerpt Added:01/02/2020

It's a new year and, for Illinois, a new era of recreational marijuana.

Weed dispensaries across the state opened their doors before sunrise Wednesday, welcoming long lines of customers - some who had been waiting since 4 a.m.

"Cheers to lighting up the start of 2020!" one dispensary, Sunnyside, wrote on its Facebook page.

Under Illinois law, anyone over 21 with a valid state ID or driver's license can purchase recreational marijuana from licensed retailers.

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2 US IL: Legal Weed In IlinoisThu, 02 Jan 2020
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Robert Area:Illinois Lines:701 Added:01/02/2020

Illinois started off the new decade by embarking into the world of recreational marijuana, where people can buy the intoxicating plant legally and without a prescription.

Across the Chicago area, thousands lined up - some before dawn - for a chance to buy marijuana legally for the first time. The day featured long lines, a few glitches - and lots of happy customers.

"It's history, so it's worth the wait," Damien Smith of Maywood said as he left MedMen dispensary in Oak Park with a bag of cannabis products after waiting in line for about four hours.

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3US IL: Illinois Sees First Legal Sales Of Recreational MarijuanaWed, 01 Jan 2020
Source:Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)          Area:Illinois Lines:Excerpt Added:01/01/2020

CHICAGO - The sale of marijuana for recreational purposes became legal Wednesday in Illinois to the delight of pot fans - many who began lining up hours early at dispensaries.

About 500 people were outside Dispensary 33 in Chicago. Renzo Mejia made the first legal purchase in the shop shortly after 6 a.m., the earliest that Illinois' new law allowed such sales.

"To be able to have (recreational marijuana) here is just mind-boggling," Mejia told the Chicago Sun-Times after buying an eighth of an ounce called "Motorbreath."

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4 US IL: Medical Marijuana Popularity Surging In Illinois As RevisionsSat, 19 Oct 2019
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Rober Area:Illinois Lines:149 Added:10/23/2019

The medical marijuana program in Illinois is seeing record growth since changes in the law greatly expanded the program and made it easier for patients to participate.

More than 87,000 patients have qualified for the program since stores opened in November 2015 - including a spike of almost 37,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, a 93% increase, according to state records. The surge of new patients exceeds the number signed up in any previous fiscal year, based on the latest annual report on medical cannabis by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

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5 US IL: Countdown Begins To Jan. 1 After Pritzker Signs Bill MakingWed, 26 Jun 2019
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Robert Area:Illinois Lines:153 Added:06/26/2019

A landmark battle in the war on drugs ended Tuesday, and a new approach to address racial inequities began, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker acted to legalize marijuana in Illinois effective Jan. 1, 2020.

Sponsors called the change "historic" as Pritzker signed into law a bill that will allow Illinois residents 21 and over to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis flower, 5 grams of concentrate and 500 milligrams of THC infused in edibles and other products. Out-of-state visitors may have up to half those amounts.

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6 US IL: Answers To Other Burning Questions About Recreational WeedWed, 26 Jun 2019
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Robert Area:Illinois Lines:107 Added:06/26/2019

Marking a historic moment in an expanding national movement, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed legislation that makes recreational marijuana legal in Illinois.

After debate in Springfield earlier this year - during which one lawmaker even cracked eggs into a frying pan to depict the "brain on drugs" - the bill allowing possession and sales to begin on Jan. 1 was approved by the House and Senate.

Illinois became the 11th state to legalize cannabis and the first state in which a legislature approved commercial sales. Vermont lawmakers legalized possession, but not yet commercial sales. Approval in other states came via referendum.

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7US IL: Illinois Becomes 11th State To Allow Recreational MarijuanaTue, 25 Jun 2019
Source:Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)          Area:Illinois Lines:Excerpt Added:06/25/2019

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois' new governor delivered on a top campaign promise Tuesday by signing legislation making the state the 11th to approve marijuana for recreational use in a program offering legal remedies and economic benefits to minorities whose lives critics say were damaged by a wayward war on drugs.

Legalization in Illinois also means that nearly 800,000 people with criminal records for purchasing or possessing 30 grams of marijuana or less may have those records expunged, a provision minority lawmakers and interest groups demanded. It also gives cannabis-vendor preference to minority owners and promises 25% of tax revenue from marijuana sales to redevelop impoverished communities.

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8 US IL: Legal Recreational Pot Bill Passes Illinois House, On Way ToFri, 31 May 2019
Source:Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Author:Sfondeles, Tina Area:Illinois Lines:137 Added:05/31/2019

Once Gov. Pritzker signs the bill into law, Illinois will become the first state to approve cannabis sales through the Legislature, instead of a ballot measure.

SPRINGFIELD - A recreational marijuana legalization bill will soon land on Gov. J.B. Pritzker's desk after the Illinois House on Friday voted to pass the comprehensive measure.

The Illinois House voted 66-47 after more than three hours of debate. The Illinois Senate on Wednesday cleared the measure. The governor issued a statement applauding the bill's passage and pledging to sign it.

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9 US IL: Medical Marijuana Sellers See New Law As A Win ForThu, 06 Sep 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Berkowitz, Karen Area:Illinois Lines:140 Added:09/06/2018

Medical pot sellers in the north suburbs are lauding a new Illinois law that will eventually allow patients who might be prescribed an opioid-based painkiller to qualify for medical marijuana as an alternative.

The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program has the potential to expand marijuana access to patients who have been, or could be prescribed medications such as Oxycontin, Percocet or Vicodin, even if they don't have one of the medical conditions the state otherwise requires for eligibility. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the law on Aug. 28.

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10 US IL: Chicago Cops Pointed Guns At Children While Raiding The WrongWed, 15 Aug 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Briscoe, Tony Area:Illinois Lines:121 Added:08/15/2018

Chicago police officers pointed their guns at two young children while executing a search warrant at the wrong address, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court.

Gilbert Mendez is suing the city, saying police used excessive force when officers rammed their way through the front door of his McKinley Park apartment last November, according to court documents. The officers had intended to raid the apartment of Mendez's upstairs neighbor, who was suspected of drug possession. But Mendez, his wife, Hester, and two children Jack, 5, and Peter, 9, were alarmed when police officers barged in with guns drawn, the suit says.

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11 US IL: Giving Addicted Inmates Opioid Meds Behind Bars Can ReduceFri, 06 Jul 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Keilman, John Area:Illinois Lines:222 Added:07/11/2018

Why don't more jails use them?

After Neila Rivera began using heroin as a teenager, she fell into a predictable and depressing pattern. She'd get locked up and go through detox, only to return to drugs as soon as she got out.

It's a routine that has become more dangerous as heroin, now commonly mixed with powerful synthetic opioids like fentanyl, has become more unpredictably potent: Studies show that people released from incarceration, their drug tolerance lowered from abstinence, are far more likely than others to overdose.

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12 US IL: Oped: Let's Not Forget How Wrong Our Crime Data AreFri, 25 May 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:O'Neil, Cathy Area:Illinois Lines:91 Added:05/25/2018

Legalizing marijuana makes sense for a lot of reasons, but there's one valuable thing we'll lose when police stop arresting people for smoking pot: A sense of just how misleading our crime data are.

Data on arrests and reported crime play a big role in public policy and law enforcement. Politicians employ them to gauge their success in making neighborhoods and the entire country safe. Police departments use them to determine where to deploy more officers to look for more crime. They are fed into recidivism-risk algorithms, which help judges and parole boards make decisions on sentencing and release.

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13 US IL: Why Synthetic Marijuana Might Not Be IllegalFri, 06 Apr 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:89 Added:04/11/2018

Severe bleeding linked to consumption of synthetic cannabinoids has resulted in at least two deaths and injury to nearly 90 others, according to state health officials.

Illinois legislators approved an amendment to the state's controlled substances act last spring in an attempt to curb the sale and use of synthetic drugs.

Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law a few months later.

Less than a year after that, an outbreak of severe bleeding and at least two deaths are being linked to the ingestion of these materials, many of which are found for sale at tobacco shops, convenience stores and other retail sites throughout the state.

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14 US IL: Synthetic Pot Leaves 2 Dead And Dozens Hospitalized In ChicagoMon, 02 Apr 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Malagon, Elvia Area:Illinois Lines:96 Added:04/03/2018

Two people have died and 56 sickened in the Chicago area and central Illinois after using synthetic pot, popularly known as K2 and Spice, state officials said on Monday.

Over the weekend, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that one person had died after using synthetic cannabinoid products, but on Monday the state agency announced that a second person had also perished. Generally, those sickened by the drug have been hospitalized for internal bleeding as well as blood coming from the ears, eyes and mouth.

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15 US IL: 3 Arrested For Selling Synthetic Marijuana Linked To DeathsMon, 02 Apr 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:33 Added:04/02/2018

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The owner of a Chicago convenience store and two employees have been charged with selling synthetic marijuana that has been linked to two deaths.

Federal prosecutors have charged 48-year-old Fouad Masoud and 44-year-old Jad Allah, both of suburban Justice, and 44-year-old Adil Khan Mohammed of Chicago with conspiring to distribute and sell a controlled substance. Federal prosecutors say U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents made undercover buys of the synthetic cannabinoids at Masoud's West Side Chicago store.

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16 US IL: In The Era Of Legalization, How Do You Discuss Marijuana WithWed, 21 Mar 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Schoenberg, Nara Area:Illinois Lines:122 Added:03/25/2018

"My uncle is prescribed marijuana."

"My parents use it, and they're doing fine."

As a drug prevention specialist who does in-school presentations in the U.S., as well as internationally, Zach Levin has seen the problem firsthand: Teens know that recreational use is legal in states such as Colorado and that medical use is on the rise, and they're using that information to support the old argument that a little weed never hurt anyone.

And starting today, Illinois teens have one more argument: In a symbolic win for legalization forces that did not change local laws, Cook County residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana use by a wide margin Tuesday, with 68 percent in favor and 32 percent against.

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17 US IL: Oped: The Opioid Epidemic And 'Do No Harm'Mon, 19 Mar 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Robb, William Area:Illinois Lines:82 Added:03/22/2018

Historically opioid medications were used cautiously by physicians for selected patients to reduce pain associated with acute injury or illness, and for those suffering from life-threatening diseases such as cancer.

This caution was based upon recognition that improper use of opioids could result in patient harm. However, in 1996, the American Pain Society, supported by opioid pharmaceutical manufacturers, promoted acknowledgment and expanded treatment of pain as the 'fifth vital sign" by physicians in hospitals. In 2001, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations introduced new pain standards recognizing the under-assessment and treatment of pain, which then expanded the use of opioids. In the two decades that followed opioid use and abuse has exploded, with nearly 80 percent of the world's opioid medications now being consumed in the U.S.

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18 US IL: Editorial: An FBI fable: The Case Of The Cannabis CandidateThu, 08 Mar 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:61 Added:03/10/2018

There's a lot of truth-bending in political campaigns. Remember then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's false assertion in 2015 that thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrated the 9/11 attacks? Or how about Hillary Clinton's tall tale in her 2008 campaign that on a trip to Bosnia, "I remember landing under sniper fire. aE& We just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base." That, too, didn't happen.

Benjamin Thomas Wolf's Pinocchio moment is also a doozy.

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19 US IL: Bipartisan Effort Pushing To Legalize Recreational MarijuanaFri, 02 Mar 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Griffin, Jake Area:Illinois Lines:63 Added:03/05/2018

Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use throughout the state is being revised to gain more bipartisan support in an effort to secure a veto-proof majority.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy and state Sen. Heather Steans introduced the bills last year, but the Chicago Democrats are rewriting some aspects to make the legislation more attractive to Republican counterparts.

Cassidy and Skillicorn met Friday with the Daily Herald editorial board to discuss the legislation.

Cassidy said having Republican support for the legislation would help get the law implemented this year since Gov. Bruce Rauner has signaled he would veto such a bill. Democrats have a veto-proof majority in the Senate, but would need at least five Republicans in the House to override a gubernatorial veto even if every Democrat supported the bill.

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20 US IL: Republicans Signing On To Bills To Legalize RecreationalFri, 02 Mar 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Griffin, Jake Area:Illinois Lines:73 Added:03/02/2018

East Dundee Republican state Rep. Allen Skillicorn, left, has co-sponsored a bill introduced by Chicago Democratic state Rep. Kelly Cassidy to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state.

Legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use throughout the state is being revised to gain more bipartisan support in an effort to secure a veto-proof majority.

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy and state Sen. Heather Steans introduced the bills last year, but the Chicago Democrats are rewriting some aspects to make the legislation more attractive to Republican counterparts.

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21 US IL: Legal Marijuana Question A Step Closer To Being On NovemberThu, 01 Mar 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Garcia, Monique Area:Illinois Lines:63 Added:03/01/2018

The state Senate on Thursday voted to ask on the November ballot whether recreational use of marijuana should be legalized and taxed in Illinois.

The ballot question would be only advisory, so even if voters approve, lawmakers still would have to act.

Sponsoring Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said it is important to poll the public because some lawmakers are already working to legalize recreational marijuana use for people over 21. He noted that in most states that allow recreational use, it was done by voters expressing support in the ballot box.

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22 US IL: Illinois Voters Could Be Asked In November About LegalizingThu, 22 Feb 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Lukitsch, Bill Area:Illinois Lines:67 Added:02/26/2018

Illinois voters could get a say whether the state should legalize recreational marijuana if lawmakers decide to put the question on November ballots.

A state Senate committee advanced the idea on Wednesday, but a ballot question would be non-binding. That means it would work like a statewide public opinion poll and wouldn't legalize marijuana even if a majority of voters approve. Lawmakers who want to legalize the drug could get a political boost, though, if voters favor it.

State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, said putting the matter to a vote would "bring the public into the debate" and "give them an opportunity to register their opinion" as lawmakers debate the idea in Springfield.

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23 US IL: OPED: Medical Cannabis As A Replacement To Opioids CouldFri, 09 Feb 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Starr, Rj Area:Illinois Lines:83 Added:02/09/2018

On Wednesday, the Illinois Senate Executive Committee overwhelmingly passed SB336, a bill that would allow people with opioid prescriptions to apply for a medical marijuana card, with only Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Republican from Bloomington, voting no in a 16-1 decisive passing.

If signed into law, SB336 would amend the medical marijuana program to allow those who are prescribed opioids to apply for medical marijuana instead, giving patients the ability to choose medical cannabis, which has consistently shown to be a safer alternative, over the highly addictive and often deadly opioids.

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24 US IL: Madigan Joins Attorneys General Pushing To Allow More Banks ToTue, 23 Jan 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:126 Added:01/23/2018

As the legal marijuana industry navigates uncertainty on the federal level, state attorneys general are asking Congress to pass a law allowing banks to work with cannabis companies.

Along with Illinois, 28 other states, Washington, D.C., and several U.S. territories have legalized medicinal cannabis, and eight states and the District of Columbia allow recreational use. But in the eyes of federal law, weed is still illegal, and the cash earned selling it is drug money.

Illinois' highly regulated medical cannabis industry, operating under a state pilot program, has been fighting to expand. Earlier this week, a judge ordered the state to add intractable pain -- pain that's resistant to treatment -- to the list of 41 conditions that qualify patients to use medical marijuana.

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25 US IL: AG: Girl Can Use Medical Marijuana At SchoolFri, 12 Jan 2018
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:62 Added:01/12/2018

CHICAGO -- The Latest on lawsuit to allow 11-year-old to receive marijuana treatment while at school.

The Illinois attorney general's office has told a federal court it will allow a suburban Chicago school district to administer medical marijuana to an 11-year-old leukemia patient to treat her for seizure disorders.

The commitment made to Judge John Blakey on Friday came two days after the student's parents sued Schaumburg-based District 54 and the state for the girl's right to take medical marijuana at school. Illinois' medical cannabis law prohibits possessing or using marijuana on school grounds or buses.

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26 US IL: Parents File Suit To Allow Daughter To Use Medical MarijuanaThu, 11 Jan 2018
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Robert Area:Illinois Lines:122 Added:01/11/2018

In a case that could have far-reaching implications, parents of an elementary school student who has leukemia are suing a Schaumburg-based school district and the state of Illinois for the right for her to take medical marijuana at school.

Plaintiffs identified only as J.S. and M.S., parents of A.S., filed suit Wednesday claiming that the state's ban on taking the drug at school is unconstitutional because it denies the right to due process and violates the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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27 US IL: LTE: Restrict, Don't Increase, Access To MarijuanaMon, 06 Nov 2017
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Deckard, Bill Area:Illinois Lines:42 Added:11/06/2017

An Oct. 28 letter to the Daily Herald advocated greater access to marijuana for people suffering chronic pain, citing a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). But if you visit the JAMA website and enter the search word "marijuana," you'll also see dozens of articles showing that marijuana can kill more than just pain: it can negatively impact things like cognitive function, moral clarity and the general health and well-being of users and their children and grandchildren.

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28 US IL: Can Marijuana Rescue Coal Country?Sun, 13 Aug 2017
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Ferguson, Mark Lynn Area:Illinois Lines:537 Added:08/13/2017

Johnsie Gooslin spent Jan. 16, 2015, tending his babies -- that's what he called his marijuana plants.

More than 70 of them were growing in a hydroponic system of his own design.

Sometimes, he'd stay in his barn for 16 hours straight, perfecting his technique.

That night, he left around 8 o'clock to head home. The moon was waning, down to a sliver, which left the sky as dark as the ridges that lined it. As he pulled away, the lights from his late-model Kia swept across his childhood hollow and his parents' trailer, which stood just up the road from the barn. He turned onto West Virginia Route 65. Crossing Mingo County, he passed the Delbarton Mine, where he had worked on and off for 14 years before his back gave out. Though Johnsie was built like a linebacker, falling once from a coal truck and twice from end loaders had taken a toll. At 36, his disks were a mess, and sciatica sometimes shot pain to his knees.

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29 US IL: 30 People Shot, 3 Fatally, In 18 Hours In ChicagoSun, 16 Jul 2017
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Malagon, Elvia Area:Illinois Lines:290 Added:07/19/2017

Thirty people were shot, three fatally, during a violent 18-hour period from Saturday to Sunday in Chicago, which included a police-involved shooting and an attack outside Mount Sinai Hospital.

In the Lawndale neighborhood, a woman's voice echoed as she voiced her frustration at the scene of a double shooting that left a 31-year-old man dead and another man wounded.

"They know it's a drug house," she yelled out at the police and crowd that had gathered. "They don't give a (expletive). I do. I'm tired of this (expletive)."

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30 US IL: Column: Trump Administration Blames Chicago's Violence OnMon, 03 Jul 2017
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Huppke, Rex Area:Illinois Lines:168 Added:07/05/2017

Chicago, I'm told, has a morality problem.

That's what White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the other day when asked if violence in our city is related to easy access to guns.

"I think that the problem there is pretty clear that it's a crime problem," she said. "I think crime is probably driven more by morality than anything else."

That's an interesting statement, given the reason the question was posed: The administration had just announced that 20 federal gun agents were being dispatched to Chicago to help with a task force focused on the flow of illegal guns into the city.

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31 US IL: 2 Accused Of Trying To Sell Pancake Mix To Cops In Drug DealFri, 23 Jun 2017
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:39 Added:06/23/2017

Two Elgin men were arrested after police said they tried to sell pancake mix in a drug deal with undercover officers.

[Name redacted], 18, of the 600 block of Hampton Circle, was charged with four counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance, and one count of unlawful possession of a look-alike substance with intent to deliver, police said in a Facebook post Friday.

[Name redacted], 19, of the 300 block of Ann Street, was charged with one count each of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and possession of a look-alike substance with intent to deliver, police said.

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32 US IL: First Elephant Tranquilizer Charges Brought In Federal CourtMon, 23 Jan 2017
Source:Chicago Sun-Times (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:66 Added:01/23/2017

[Name redacted], is charged with selling about a kilogram of heroin mixed with carfentanil -- the elephant tranquilizer -- and another potent opioid, fentanyl.

A grand jury has indicted a Cincinnati man on charges of selling an elephant tranquilizer in Chicago, the first time someone has been charged here with selling the drug -- which is used by narcotics dealers to boost the potency of heroin, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

[Name redacted] is accused of selling the mixture of drugs to the informant on Sept. 9 in a vehicle near 93rd and Stony Island on the South Side. An audio recording was made of the deal, authorities say. [Name redacted] allegedly offered to sell the informant a kilogram of the mixture for $65,000.

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33 US IL: PUB LTE: Opioid Epidemic Is Real, Getting WorseThu, 19 Jan 2017
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Author:Delaney, Megan Area:Illinois Lines:43 Added:01/20/2017

I am writing to you in regard to the article "New pitch made for alcohol, drug treatment center near Campton Hills."

The opioid epidemic is a rather common in the U.S., but the opioid overdose statistics in Illinois have risen dramatically over a very short period of time, nearly 1,700 people in our state died from overdoses in 2014. This is a multifaceted problem, but our first step is destigmatization.

The recent opioid overdoses are directly related to an overall decrease of prescribing large amounts of pain killers. This crack down, which is absolutely necessary, causes people with narcotic addiction to seek it through heroin, rather than narcotic pain killers. Many reports all over the U.S. are pointing to heroin laced with fentanyl, a super potent narcotic, most likely from China, as the culprit to the heroin overdoses. This problem is not going away any time soon.

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34 US IL: Traveling To Denver For Pot Clubs? Rules Are Still Up In TheThu, 19 Jan 2017
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:60 Added:01/19/2017

[photo] Partygoers smoke marijuana during a Prohibition-era themed New Year's Eve party at a bar in Denver, celebrating the start of retail pot sales. Denver is starting work on becoming the first city in the nation to allow marijuana clubs and public pot use in places like restaurants, yoga studios and art galleries. Voters narrowly approved the "social use" measure last November. (Brennan Linsley / AP)

Denver has started work on the nation's first law allowing marijuana clubs and use in public places such as coffee shops or art galleries. But the details about what those pot clubs would look like are very much in the air. Here's what we know, and don't know, about the looming pot clubs headed to Denver:

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35 US IL: Could Medical Marijuana Users Become Addicted To Pot?Thu, 19 Jan 2017
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:173 Added:01/19/2017

Depressed, withdrawn and coping with a death in the family, Joseph thought getting high would help him feel better.

Instead, he said, his marijuana smoking grew into a daily habit that made him paranoid and constantly question how others saw him. He went days without going home, showering or eating much besides potato chips.

"I always thought (marijuana) would bring down my anxiety, but it just made it that much worse," the Rockford-area man said.

One day, after getting so high that he was pacing around, alarmed by his own gaunt appearance and generally "freaking out," Joseph was taken by his brother to a Rosecrance drug treatment center in Rockford, where he entered an inpatient program.

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36 US IL: Medical Marijuana Dispensary Proposed For AlgonquinWed, 11 Jan 2017
Source:Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:54 Added:01/12/2017

[photo] A medical marijuana dispensary is proposed for 1154 N. Main St. in Algonquin.

Algonquin officials are considering a medical marijuana company's proposal to open a dispensary in a medical office complex.

ILDISP III LLC, represented by Ross Morreale, is seeking a special-use permit for a free-standing building at 1154 N. Main St., out of which the company would sell marijuana to patients with a prescription.

An attached garage would also be added onto the building, which formerly housed an MRI center, as a secure area for deliveries and waste removal, according to the proposal.

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37 US IL: Duterte Threatens To Throw Corrupt Officials Out Of AThu, 29 Dec 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:98 Added:12/29/2016

- -- and says he's done it before

In his latest controversial statement, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, known for his bloody anti-drug war that has killed thousands, threatened to throw corrupt officials out of a helicopter, saying he has done it before, to a kidnapper, and won't hesitate to do it again.

"I will pick you up in a helicopter to Manila, and I will throw you out on the way," Duterte said in Tagalog in front of a crowd in the Camarines Sur province Tuesday, according to GMA News. "I've done it before. Why would I not do it again?"

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38 US IL: Philippine President Duterte Confirms He Killed People AsThu, 29 Dec 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:78 Added:12/29/2016

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs

Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs faces criticism for its brutal efforts that have left more than 3,000 drug users and dealers dead.

Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs faces criticism for its brutal efforts that have left more than 3,000 drug users and dealers dead.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte affirmed on Friday that he shot dead three people as mayor, dismissing any uncertainty and displaying no remorse.

"I don't really know how many bullets from my gun went inside their bodies," he said. "It happened. I cannot lie about it."

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39 US IL: Medical Marijuana's Big Business Lures Ex-law Enforcers InWed, 28 Dec 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:114 Added:12/28/2016

With fewer than 4,000 approved patients, the nascent medical marijuana business in Illinois is off to a slow start. Yet it hasn't kept away a cadre of cannabis entrepreneurs who once relied on guns, badges, tough drug laws and lengthy prison sentences to fight the drug.

While neither state regulators nor the medical marijuana industry track the number of employees who were former law enforcement officials, The Associated Press has identified no fewer than 17 in Illinois, many of whom have outsized influence -- from a trustee of the state's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police to one-time undercover narcotics officers.

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40 US IL: Wire: Lawsuit Filed By Kansas Mom Over Medical Pot UseTue, 27 Dec 2016
Source:Associated Press (Wire)          Area:Illinois Lines:27 Added:12/28/2016

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a western Kansas woman against the state and several agencies after her son was removed from her home in 2015 when he told school officials she used marijuana.

Shona Banda, of Garden City, alleged in the lawsuit filed in March that the defendants denied her civil rights by refusing to allow her to use medical marijuana to treat her Crohn's disease, interfered with her parenting and questioned her son without her permission. Medical marijuana is not legal in Kansas.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday, agreeing with the defendants' contention that Banda had no right to use marijuana and the agencies had some immunity.

Banda says she intends to pursue the case after she recovers from a recent surgery.

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41 US IL: DEA Records Show W. Va. Flooded With 780 Million PainkillersMon, 19 Dec 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Tribune, Area:Illinois Lines:140 Added:12/19/2016

[photo] Hydrocodone at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. (Toby Talbot / AP)

Drug wholesalers shipped 780 million hydrocodone and oxycodone pills to West Virginia in just six years, a period when 1,728 people fatally overdosed on these two painkillers, according to an investigation by the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

That amounts to 433 of the frequently abused opioid pills for every man, woman and child in the state of 1.84 million people.

The Gazette-Mail obtained previously confidential records sent by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to the office of West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. They disclose the number of pills sold to every pharmacy and drug shipments to all 55 counties in West Virginia between 2007 and 2012.

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42 US IL: OPED: Is Our Constitution Going To Pot?Mon, 12 Dec 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Choslovsky, William Area:Illinois Lines:134 Added:12/12/2016

Imagine this: Upon taking his oath of office, President Donald Trump instructs his new attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to ignore civil rights laws. How would that go over? Before you yell, "But we are a nation of laws!" you can thank President Barack Obama and his prior Attorney General Eric Holder for magnifying this issue.

Basically, the Obama administration made it standard operating procedure to ignore laws they thought unfashionable or unworthy.

The best example of this is marijuana.

To be clear at the outset, I am neither pro-pot nor anti-pot. And, in fact, marijuana is not even the issue - rather, the Constitution is. Marijuana is just the symptom that exposes the problem.

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43 US IL: We Need To Standardize Marijuana LawsSun, 25 Sep 2016
Source:Journal Standard, The (Freeport, IL) Author:Sweeny, Chuck Area:Illinois Lines:67 Added:09/27/2016

I've been thinking a lot lately about marijuana.

No, it's not what you suspect, I don't smoke the stuff.

Nor do I need it to alleviate pain. Rather, it's our country's schizophrenic way of dealing with "weed." Here in Stephenson County is In Grown Farms, which is perfectly legal and is growing marijuana plants to be harvested, packaged and sold at marijuana dispensaries as medicine.

You need a doctor's prescription to get it. There hasn't been much controversy about it. Indeed, folks are happy that a new business decided to locate in the Freeport area. There's even talk -- perhaps far-out talk, but still -- of mixing marijuana, legally, with snack foods like pretzels or potato chips. Meanwhile, next door in Winnebago County, the county sheriff's police raided two fields, one near Durand, the other between Rockford and Winnebago, and found what they said was $1 million worth of marijuana plants. These plants were growing illegally.

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44 US IL: State Supreme Court Sets Rules for PotFri, 02 Sep 2016
Source:Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Author:Sfondeles, Tina Area:Illinois Lines:73 Added:09/02/2016

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday announced it has created new rules for the state's cannabis decriminalization law - including setting a $ 120 fine for those caught with up to 10 grams of cannabis or drug paraphernalia.

The law, which Gov. Bruce Rauner signed on July 29, gave the state Supreme Court the authority to further clarify the newly defined "civil law violation" of possessing up to 10 grams of cannabis or drug paraphernalia.

Under the law, the violation is punishable by a fine between $ 100 and $ 200. In one of six newly created rules, the fine was set at $ 120 per violation.

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45 US IL: Weed Busts Out Of WhackSun, 21 Aug 2016
Source:Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Author:Dumke, Mick Area:Illinois Lines:192 Added:08/21/2016

African-Americans Ticketed, Arrested for Pot Offenses in Chicago Far More Than Any Racial Group

Four years after the Chicago City Council decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, African-American neighborhoods continue to bear the brunt of enforcement, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found.

As anticipated, the Chicago Police Department is making a fraction of the arrests for misdemeanor marijuana possession it made in 2011 - the last full year before cops were given the option of ticketing, rather than locking up, people caught with about half an ounce or less.

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46 US IL: Did 'First Daughter' Inhale Just Like Dad?Fri, 12 Aug 2016
Source:Dominion Post, The (New Zealand)          Area:Illinois Lines:39 Added:08/12/2016

She recently turned 18, and if Malia Obama did not know that she had become a legitimate target for sections of the American media, she does now.

The "First Daughter" was videoed smoking what a witness claimed was a joint in a video clip released yesterday.

The footage was taken at the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago last month. It is unclear from the images whether what Obama can be seen puffing on is a regular cigarette or one rolled with cannabis.

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47 US IL: Pot Industry Lights UpThu, 11 Aug 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:McCoppin, Robert Area:Illinois Lines:154 Added:08/12/2016

Illinois Medical Marijuana Use Has Increased Under Strict Regulation As Business Expands

In a warehouse in Joliet, hundreds of marijuana plants sway under high-intensity lights, taking in carbon dioxide-rich air, sucking up a constant feed of nutrients and bristling with buds.

Like Olympic athletes, the plants are rigorously trained and intensively pampered. Tiny predator bugs patrol the surface of the vegetation, hunting down any pests. Workers prune stems and leaves to put all the plants' energy into buds that produce the drug's euphoric and medicinal effects. The process churns out 200 pounds of high-grade pot every month.

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48 US IL: OPED: Even If You Can Smoke Pot, That Doesn't Mean YouThu, 04 Aug 2016
Source:Chicago Sun-Times (IL) Author:Lemon, Joseph Jr. Area:Illinois Lines:87 Added:08/04/2016

Last week, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law reductions in the criminal penalties for minor marijuana possession in Illinois. Previously, those convicted of marijuana possession faced possible jail time; now, just a citation and a fine.

This reminds us of an age-old admonition: "Just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you necessarily should."

Critics of this more liberal (or libertarian, depending upon your political persuasion) policy toward marijuana have reason to worry.

As reported by the New England Journal of Medicine, there is an inverse correlation between the perceived risk of marijuana and the incidence of people's use of it. Simply put, the less risky people view marijuana, the more likely they are to use - and abuse - it.

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49 US IL: Rauner Cuts Pot Possession PunishmentSat, 30 Jul 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL) Author:Garcia, Monique Area:Illinois Lines:129 Added:07/30/2016

Governor Signs Legislation to Issue Citations Instead of Time in Jail

SPRINGFIELD - Getting caught with small amounts of marijuana will result in citations akin to a traffic ticket instead of the possibility of jail time under legislation Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law Friday.

Rauner's approval of the decriminalization measure comes after he used his amendatory veto powers last year to rewrite similar legislation he argued would have allowed people to carry too much pot and fine violators too little.

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50 US IL: State Medical Marijuana Program Extended To '20Sat, 02 Jul 2016
Source:Chicago Tribune (IL)          Area:Illinois Lines:84 Added:07/02/2016

(AP) - Illinois' experiment with medical marijuana has earned a boost thanks to Gov. Bruce Rauner's approval of legislation extending the state pilot program for 2 1/2 years and including two more medical conditions.

On Friday, medical marijuana advocates and experts called it a turning point that gives patients guaranteed access to the drug and provides confidence to those selling and cultivating it in the state. Rauner signed the measure Thursday night.

"It's a very good thing for us," said Charles Bachtell, founder and CEO of Cresco Labs, which holds cultivation permits in Illinois. "It's somewhat of an endorsement of the state saying, 'You're doing the right thing. We like what we're seeing from the pilot program and let's make some reasonable modifications.'"

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