Dr. Sonjay Gupta joins John and Ray, informing them about his special report airing Sunday about the use of pot versus the use of opioids.
Watch Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s CNN Special Report “Weed 4: Pot vs. Pills” on Sunday, April 29, at 8 p.m. ET.
(CHICAGO) Separate pieces of legislation aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana use in Illinois were submitted to the state general assembly Wednesday.
State Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, filed an amendment to House Bill 2353 that would make it legal for person older than 21 to buy and consume cannabis, which, under the legislation, would be regulated and taxed like alcohol, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The amendment was submitted “in the interest of allowing law enforcement to focus on violent and property crimes, generating revenue for education and other public purposes, and individual freedom.”
In the other chamber, state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, submitted a bill to legalize possession of up to 28 grams of marijuana.
“In a regulated system, the money would go into the cash registers of licensed, taxpaying businesses,” Steans wrote on her website. “It would generate hundreds of millions of dollars per year in new revenue for our state. Prohibition is a financial hole in the ground, and we should stop throwing taxpayer dollars into it.”
Asked if Gov. Bruce Rauner would consider signing either piece of legislation, spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said the two bills were under review.
It was not clear Wednesday night when either piece of legislation would be put to a vote.
In 2016, Rauner signed a bill into law that decriminalized possession of up to 10 ounces of marijuana.
Both Steans and Cassidy have previously sponsored legislation to relax marijuana laws in Illinois.
Cassidy was the chief sponsor of a 2015 house bill that would have made possession of up to 15 grams of pot — about half an ounce — a ticketable offense. Steans sponsored the Senate version.
After months of negotiation, that bill passed the General Assembly. But Rauner issued an amendatory veto, saying possession of more than 10 grams should remain a criminal act. Legislators eventually agreed to the compromise, writing the 10-gram threshold into the bill Rauner signed in 2016.
— Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO (AP) — The American Academy of Pediatrics is beefing up warnings about marijuana’s potential harms for teens.
In today’s issue of the journal Pediatrics, the influential doctors group opposes medical and recreational marijuana use for kids.
It says emphasizing that message is important because most states have legalized medical use for adults, and many have decriminalized or legalized adults’ recreational use.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(FOX LAKE) A 22-year-old north suburban man was charged after police looking for a stolen laptop found more than a pound of marijuana in his home Monday.
Police executed a search warrant for a home in the 100 block of Arthur Avenue in Fox Lake looking for a laptop computer reported stolen in early January in Lincolnshire, according to a statement from Lincolnshire police.
While searching the home of Kyle Bozovsky, police found 536 grams of marijuana in several containers in the home and his vehicle, Fox Lake police said. Police also seized $2,500 in cash found in a safe at the home where marijuana was also found.
Bozovsky was charged with felony possession of marijuana and felony possession of stolen property, police said.
Bond was set at $100,000 and Bozovsky was scheduled to appear in court again May 29.
Fox Lake police are continuing their investigation and more charges could be added.
(CHICAGO) People busted repeatedly with minor amounts of marijuana could face treatment rather than prosecution under a set of “sweeping” reforms Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is set to announce on Monday.
The county’s top prosecutor will announce the “first of its kind alternative prosecution program” during a press conference at her office Monday morning, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The program is designed for nonviolent individuals charged with Class 4 felony drug possession and intends to link repeat offenders with social service agencies “for treatment rather than pursuing criminal penalties,” according to the release. Its goal is to begin addressing chronic drug use as a public health issue.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Martin Maloney said Alvarez’s plan is a “welcome step.”
“Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel has long believed that reducing penalties for nonviolent, low-level drug offenses saves taxpayer dollars and, more importantly, keeps nonviolent offenders from a lifetime in the criminal justice system,” Maloney said.
Alvarez spokeswoman Sally Daly said the state’s attorney intends, in most cases, not to prosecute misdemeanor marijuana charges brought against people with no significant history of violence. Individuals with three or more arrests or citations for misdemeanor marijuana possession will instead be referred to drug school, she added.
Class 4 felony drug possession cases made up 25 percent of Cook County’s felony cases in 2014, according to Alvarez’s office. That’s in addition to 15,000 misdemeanor cases for possession of small amounts of marijuana.
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Chicago Police photo
(CHICAGO) Police say they found 386 lbs. of cannabis in a man’s SUV during a traffic stop in the North Austin neighborhood on Saturday evening.
Grand Central District officers tried to pull the vehicle over when the driver committed a traffic violation as he pulled out of an alley about 7:15 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Moody, according to a statement from Chicago Police.
The driver, 37-year-old James Hargrett, drove off but stopped and ran from the SUV in the 6200 block of West Cortland, police said. Officers found him hiding under a porch.
About 386 pounds of cannabis with an estimated street value of more than $1 million was found in the SUV, police said.
Hargrett, of the 2900 block of West Adams, faces a felony charge of cannabis possession, a misdemeanor count of driving an uninsured vehicle and three traffic citations.
On Sunday, he posted 10 percent of a $30,000 bond and was released on electronic monitoring, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. He is next due in court Feb. 13.
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
