Can Illinois toke its way out of its budget crisis?
Two state legislators have filed measures to have Illinois join the ranks of eight states that currently allow recreational possession and use of marijuana, with the state regulating and taxing it like alcohol.
"Legalizing and taxing marijuana will not and should not solve all of our budget woes, but it should be a part of the conversation about resolving Illinois' worsening budget problems," said one of the sponsors, state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, as quoted by The Associated Press.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democrat-controlled Legislature have been locked in a protracted fight over fiscal policy for about two years now, which has left unresolved the nation's worst long-term budget deficit.
Steans cites data showing that the pot-legal states of Oregon and Colorado last year raised $60 million and $140 million, respectively, from their marijuana taxes.
Illinois already allows restricted use of marijuana for medical purposes. The proposed new legislation, called the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act, would continue to prohibit use of marijuana in public places or in moving vehicles, and by anyone under 21.
The idea has been raised almost annually for years, but if the bill passes the Legislature this time, it has a real chance of becoming law.
Rauner vetoed a similar bill last year but made clear it wasn't because of philosophical opposition but specific concerns about the details of the bill _ that it would let people carry too much marijuana with them, for example.
The new bill would limit the allowable amount to 10 grams rather than the previous 15, and sets higher fines for violations.
If the changes he'd called for have been made in the legislation, Rauner told the Chicago Tribune last week, "then I'd probably be comfortable with it."
(In the same interview, Rauner derided the whole topic as an unimportant one in a state with Illinois' fiscal problems, likening it to legislation passed last year that designated pumpkin as the official state pie.)
In addition to Oregon and Colorado, states that currently allow recreational use of marijuana are Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington.
