The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Illinois marijuana legalization a dismal failure

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In case you missed this Chicago Tribune op-ed, “A year after legalization, Illinois’ pot industry is a mess.”

Kevin Sabet, a former senior drug policy adviser to the Obama administration and currently co-founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, wrote:

In the lead-up to the passage of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, lawmakers declared Illinois would be the first state to “get it right” and “set the standard” when it comes to social equity in the marijuana industry.

One year on, the same sad story in other legalized states appears to be playing out in Illinois as well: The rich keep getting richer, corruption abounds, the illicit market is exploding and the promises of social equity remain evasive.

Sabet noted that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised that the “social equity licensing process will work to smooth everything out.”

Right, just like the Illinois state lottery was supposed to solve the state’s education funding problems and riverboat gambling was supposed to be free of political favoritism.

Another government program that turned not just to be a failure but also an additional stool added to the stinking pile of Illinois’ systemic problems. Another example of ideology leading to another blunder.

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Illinois politics

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Illinois pot legalization