Illinois Just Became The 11th US State To Legalize Recreational Marijuana (Source truththeory.com)

This week, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, signed a bill that will legalize marijuana for recreational use throughout the state. Illinois will now be the 11th state in the US to legalize the substance for recreational use. The bill will allow residents of the state to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis at a time. Non-residents will be limited to just 15 grams. “Change is hard, but an essential tenet of good governance is recognizing the need to change the laws that have failed. In the past 50 years, the war on cannabis has destroyed families, filled prisons with nonviolent offenders and disproportionately disrupted black and brown communities,” Pritzker said during a press conference before he signed the bill. “With this legislation, our state once again is a leader, putting forward the most equity-centric cannabis legalization in the nation,” he added.

The bill also goes a step further to expunge the criminal records for anyone who was arrested for purchasing or possessing 30 grams or less. The new law will go into effect on January 1, 2020, and will allow adults over the age of 21 to purchase the plant from approved dispensaries. However, until then, possession will still be a crime in the state.