Illinois has made significant progress when it comes to medical cannabis policy, but its laws regarding recreational still lags behind other progressive states. Still, the legislature did recently pass a decriminalization bill that removed criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of cannabis.
CBD from Hemp Oil in Illinois
Hemp CBD oil is federally legal in the U.S. Individual state laws, however, are dynamic and some states have and will enact their own laws regulating hemp-derived CBD.
Medical Cannabis in Illinois
Gov. Pat Quinn signed the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act to legalize medical cannabis in Illinois, effective August 1, 2013. Public Act 98-0122 allows prescribed users to purchase and use up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis over a 14-day period. To be qualified, patients must acquire a medical cannabis prescription from a doctor who has an established history of treating the patient.
Under the law, patients must obtain medical marijuana only from one of 45 dispensaries authorized by the Illinois Department of Public Health. A caregiver is permitted to pick up medicine for very ill, homebound patients.
In June 2016, Gov. Bruce Rauner approved legislation that extended the state pilot program to at least July 2020 and expanded it to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and terminal illness.
The following conditions are approved for medical marijuana prescription in the state:
- Alzheimer’s Disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Arnold Chiari Malformation
- Cachexia or Wasting Syndrome
- Cancer
- Causalgia
- Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (Type 2)
- Crohn’s Disease
- Dystonia
- Fibromyalgia
- Fibrous Dysplasia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- HIV/AIDS
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydromyelia
- Interstitial Cystitis
- Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella Syndrome
- Neurofibromatosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Preflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- Spinal Cord Disease
- Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
- Syringomyelia
- Tarlove Cysts
- Terminal Illness
- Tourette’s Syndrome
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Concussion Syndrome
You can find Illinois’ Medical Cannabis Pilot Program website here.
Recreational Cannabis in Illinois
Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a decriminalization bill — SB 2228 — on July 29, 2016. The new law, which took effect immediately, makes possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis a civil offense punishable to a fine of up to $200. The law also removes the possibility of a criminal record and those found in possession are no longer subject to arrest or jail time. Municipalities are required to purge citation records for possession every six months.
Possession of 10 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis is considered a misdemeanor if it is a first time personal use offense. Subsequent offense of possessing 10grams to 30 grams will be charged as a felony. First offense of personal use of 30 grams to 500 grams is a charged as a felony, but the offender has to serve a minimum mandatory sentence of 1 year, and maximum jail time is 6 years. The minimum mandatory sentence for subsequent offense is 2 years. The mandatory jail time also applies to sale of more than 10 grams of recreational cannabis as well. Note that first time offenders may be given conditional release.
Cultivation of Cannabis in Illinois
Personal cultivation of cannabis is illegal in Illinois, even for medical cannabis patients and caregivers. Cultivation of less than 5 plants is a misdemeanor punishable by a 1-year maximum jail sentence. Cultivating anything more 5 plants can result in a minimum mandatory sentence of up to 4 years and a maximum fine of up to $100,000.
In 2014, the state passed the Cannabis Control Act, which allows the cultivation of industrial hemp for agricultural or academic research. All sites that are used to grow hemp must be registered with local authorities, as well as the department of agriculture.
Resources:
- http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/illinois-medical-marijuana-217854331.html
- http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881
- http://norml.org/laws/item/illinois-penalties
- http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2016/06/02/illinois-set-to-expand-its-medical-marijuana-pilot-program
- http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-illinois-marijuana-decriminalzation-0730-20160729-story.html
