A bill approved by the Illinois Senate on Wednesday to legalize possession and sale of recreational marijuana for people 21 and older would create history-making “social equity” to repair damage done by the nationwide war on drugs, sponsors of the legislation said.
Several of those sponsors embraced amid applause after the 38-17 vote, which paved the way for House consideration of the proposal — modified in several ways over the past two weeks — that would make Illinois the 11th state to legalize recreational cannabis.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s willingness to eventually pardon potentially hundreds of thousands of people convicted of lower-level marijuana offenses was key to easing constitutional concerns about House Bill 1438 and winning several Republican votes, according to Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
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Dean Olsen ~ State Journal-Register ~
