The nation is turning ganja green.
As of now, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon are all part of the growing list of states leading the legalization campaign. But Illinois may also be getting in on the fun, and you have two Democrats (of course) to thank for paving the groundwork to make it happen.
In Illinois, Senator Heather Steans and Representative Kelly Cassidy are putting in the work to get things rolling by introducing a bill to legalize marijuana (Senate Bill 316 and House Bill 2353). The bill will let adults 21 and over to possess up to 28 grams of grass and would tax marijuana in the same fashion as alcohol. If Illinois needs any motivation to pass it, all they have to do is examine the footsteps of Colorado, which is ground zero for legal recreational marijuana. As the state has learned, there are more benefits than one to legalizing cannabis—it will hope lower crime rates, spark revenue, create jobs, and provide easier access to medical marijuana to those who need it the most.
To find out more about Steans and Cassidy’s plans to convince the state’s lawmakers to legalize pot, check out the video above. And keep in mind, your state can reap many of these same advantages if they joined the movement.
