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 Starting New Year's Day, people 21 and older will be able to legally
buy up to 30 grams of marijuana flower, 5 grams of marijuana
concentrate, or 500 grams of THC-infused products such as edibles at
licensed commercial dealers throughout the state.
Cannabis consumers are expected to flock to the handful of licensed
shops across Chicago on New Year's Day. On the city's North Side, a
dealer sold $250 tickets to clients who wanted to be at the front of
the line when the store opens early in the morning next Wednesday.
Another shop, Dispensary 33, in the city's Uptown neighborhood, will
use a paging system to usher in customers who are waiting at a bar
next door.
"The whole neighborhood is joining on the party... it'll be a whole
new world in Chicago on Jan. 1," manager Abigail Watkins said,
noting that many businesses in the neighborhood are offering
specials and deals to celebrate the day.
Illinois joins 10 other states and the District of Columbia where
small amounts of the drug for adult use is legal. Medical marijuana
in Illinois has been legal since 2014.
In June, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed into
law marijuana legislation that also allows for some 700,000
marijuana-related records and convictions to be erased.
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Not everyone approves of the legislation.
"The message that... these foolish politicians are sending to our
communities and especially to our young kids is that it's no big
deal," said Illinois Family Institute Executive Director David
Smith, who opposes the measure.
"We know that it's a big deal from all of the studies that have been
done about the high-potency marijuana that is today's product... we
are seeing a spike in marijuana illnesses and addictions," he said.
Private pot sales, driving while high and consuming marijuana in
public will remain prohibited in state.
The law is projected to generate more than $57 million in new tax
and fee revenue for Illinois in fiscal 2020, which begins on July 1
for the financially troubled state, according to Illinois’ revenue
department.
(This story refiles to insert apostrophe in New Year's Day)
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Dan Grebler)
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