chicagotribune.com
The Illinois marijuana legalization debate: Who's afraid of a little home grow?
John De Friel and Randal John Meyer
4-5 minutes
Why are Illinois legislators trying to perpetuate the war on drugs against home gardeners in their cannabis legalization bill? That is exactly what
the proposed cannabis home-grow ban amendment to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s legalization plan would do.
To be sure, Gov. Pritzker’s ambitious plan to legalize cannabis legislatively is an important one, and much of the bill should serve as a model for other states going down the legalization path. However, the Illinois bill makes the unfortunate political error of wading into a concern that has derailed legalization efforts in states such as New York: home grow. Expected amendments to the bill from state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, and state Reps. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, and Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, eliminate provisions that would allow individuals to grow up to five cannabis plants at home.
Indeed, the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association’s opposition to allowing home-grown cannabis was quickly attacked as “individual and corporate greed” by cannabis consumer advocacy groups, contributing to the downfall of the bill this legislative session in New York. Already, the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has noted that any such change could result in the loss of its support for the bill.
Frankly, NORML and other critics have a point. This amendment would amount to a carve-out more significant than any government-subsidized agriculture product. Home vegetable and herb gardens are not under legal threat by the farming industry; home brewing of personal-use beer has not been outlawed in any state since 2013; and home cultivation of personal-use tobacco is not illegal.
It makes no sense to outlaw home cultivation of cannabis in legal states, let alone to try to enforce such a ban. If law-abiding citizens are able to buy home-brew beer kits, then adults ought to be able to grow, trim and cure a safer substance. Even tobacco companies don’t try to stop individuals from growing tobacco and smoking homemade cigarettes. Cannabis cronyism is jumping the shark by endangering the next step in cannabis legalization in states like Illinois and New York.
From an industry perspective, home-grown cannabis accounts for a tiny percentage of overall market share. The results of the home-grown process are unlikely to compare favorably with the quality of commercially available products. Furthermore, the time and attention that home cultivation requires only attracts the most dedicated hobbyists.
This is why the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce has endorsed continuing the trend that occurred in previous legalization efforts by allowing home-grown cannabis, noting that “humans have been both gardening and consuming cannabis — safely — since the Stone Age.” The bottom line is that home grow for personal use is not a serious threat to industry vibrancy and presents the same public health concerns as home gardening and home brewing — virtually none.
The state of Illinois should leave people alone to enjoy gardening rather than perpetuating drug war policies.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-marijuana-legalization-home-grow-pritzker-20190520-story.html#
