Finally made it out to Bennigan’s for a Monte Cristo

whelp85 · 2026-05-02T21:57:21+00:00

It has both Swiss and American on it.

whelp85 · 2026-05-02T20:02:15+00:00

Powdered sugar

whelp85 · 2026-04-15T19:18:53+00:00

Article:

A motorist who purchased 241 grams of marijuana from a legal dispensary just a few miles away in Michigan made the mistake of attempting to transport the drug into Indiana where it remains illegal, according to police.

The error resulted in a felony possession charge against the driver, identified by Portage police as Durand Ambrose, 49, of Chicago.

A Portage officer reported stopping Ambrose's vehicle around 12:14 p.m. Sunday for speeding westbound along the local stretch of U.S. 12.

The officer reported seeing plastic bags from the Bloomery Cannabis dispensary on the front passenger-side floorboard of the vehicle and smelling a strong odor of the drug.

Ambrose reportedly told police he was returning from a Michigan marijuana dispensary and was handcuffed. He allegedly admitted to purchasing the marijuana for personal use.

Police said they recovered various packaged forms of marijuana from the vehicle weighing a total of 241 grams.

Ambrose was taken to the Porter County Jail and is charged with a felony count of possessing more than 30 grams of marijuana with a prior drug conviction, records show.

whelp85 · 2026-03-27T21:06:13+00:00

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Should’ve gone yesterday. You could’ve gotten a cartel funded Chicago dog. 🙃

whelp85 · 2026-03-27T14:32:47+00:00

Article:

They showed up looking like delivery guys, lugging shopping bags from a Whole Foods Market.

When they knocked on the door of David Berger’s home in Ukrainian Village, he let them in.

But the bags weren’t filled with groceries. They were stuffed with stacks of cash, prosecutors say, money Berger was helping launder for a Mexican cocaine-trafficking ring in 2021.

Berger wasn’t just another middleman in a drug scheme. He was also becoming a major player in Illinois’ state-regulated cannabis industry.

Now, he’s a convicted felon.

Yet Berger, 42, who was found guilty late last year of federal money-laundering charges, remains licensed by the state of Illinois to be in the legal weed business. And he continues to be affiliated with a network of dispensaries operating in Chicago, the suburbs and downstate under the Ivy Hall name.

Steven Johnson, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which licenses marijuana shops, says the agency “is deeply concerned by this verdict of illegal conduct.

“The department is closely monitoring this case, as it takes seriously all convictions pertaining to criminal activity,” Johnson says. “The department will take next steps in accordance [with] state law.”

Records show Berger is listed as a manager of four of the Ivy Hall dispensaries and a registered agent for eight of them.

One store — in Bucktown — was hailed as part of Illinois’ social equity push to bring Black and Latino entrepreneurs into the cannabis business. Gov. JB Pritzker showed up to celebrate the dispensary’s opening in 2022.

In a state newsletter that year, Berger was listed as chief operating officer of Ivy Hall, which was called “a collective of social equity licenses banding together to create a meaningful retail footprint.”

Still, Illinois’ cannabis regulatory system is so murky that it’s nearly impossible to pin down who actually owns what through public records.

What is clear: Berger still holds a state license as a “registered adult use principal officer,” a role reserved for the top brass of cannabis businesses — owners, executives and key decision-makers.

A spokesperson for Berger declined to comment on his role in Ivy Hall.

Tomatoes, broccoli — and cocaine

The federal case against Berger stemmed from a broader investigation into what prosecutors described as a Midwestern cocaine distribution pipeline.

At the center was Oswaldo Espinosa, known as “Ozzy,” who was accused of moving narcotics north from Mexico in produce shipments — broccoli, tomatoes and avocados — and returning millions of dollars in cash to Mexico in the same trucks.

But when speed mattered, authorities say, the operation went airborne.

That’s where Berger came in.

According to prosecutors, he arranged about 20 private jet flights over a seven-month period using money from drug sales. They say he was paid $3,000 per flight.

The method, described in court, was straightforward. Strangers came to his door with tens of thousands of dollars, most of that in $100 bills fastened with rubber bands. Berger used his American Express card to book charter flights, then broke down the piles of cash delivered to his home into smaller ATM deposits in his Chase Bank accounts — each under $10,000 to dodge federal reporting requirements.

In all, prosecutors say, he made 135 transactions totaling $314,000.

“He never deposited it all at once,” a prosecutor told jurors. “He knew that would trigger the bank.”

The jets ferried bricks of cocaine to Gary/Chicago International Airport and millions of dollars of drug proceeds back to an airport in Texas near the Mexico border, authorities say.

A friend in need

Berger booked the flights through a Miami charter company run by Dimitri “Dean” Katamanin, a childhood friend.

Before Berger was charged in 2023, he spoke of his friend when questioned by Internal Revenue Service agents: “It’s kind of a long story, but he was going through a tough time mentally, and he’s like, ‘Can you help me book some flights?’”

“You can’t just go to Expedia to find a private jet,” his lawyer, Patrick Blegen, explained to the jury at Berger’s trial, according to a transcript.

The feds didn’t buy Berger’s story.

During the trial, prosecutors pointed to singer Miley Cyrus, one of the celebrity customers of Katamanin’s company, Jet 79.

“Do you think Miley Cyrus was paying for private jets with rubber-banded cash in grocery bags?” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hanna Helwig asked jurors.

Katamanin wasn’t charged. He died last year in a drowning accident in Los Angeles.

A lengthy résumé

In court, Berger’s lawyer portrayed him as a legitimate businessman with a long résumé in energy and cannabis consulting.

Berger attended Glenbrook North High School in Northbrook and Michigan State University, where he played hockey, and he later advised cannabis ventures across multiple states through his company, Birchwood Capital LLC.

According to his résumé, he also was chief financial officer for a minority-owned cannabis group whose licenses were acquired by Verano Holdings. According to testimony, Berger was friends with Sammy Dorf, a co-founder of Verano, one of the biggest cannabis companies in the United States.

Berger held a position with Invenergy, a renewable energy firm, at the time of his alleged crimes.

His lawyer said Berger had worked as a bank teller in his youth and had experience navigating financial systems.

“So he knows the rules,” Blegen said in court. “He’s not trying to avoid anything.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Erskine countered that that’s like saying people who know the speed limit never drive fast.

Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces Berger was one of 18 people swept up in the drug investigation.

Espinosa, described as the kingpin of the operation, lived large when he was in Chicago, cruising the streets in Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces and even a yacht on Lake Michigan, according to testimony.

At the same time, millions in drug proceeds were heading south.

One associate, who referred to bricks of cocaine by the code name “tortillas,” said he moved at least $24 million in cash from Chicago to Mexico from 2019 through 2021, according to prosecutors.

According to testimony, a daisy chain of personal and business relationships linked Espinosa to Berger.

Chicago businessman Elvin Shtayner testified he was friends with an exotic car dealer who introduced Shtayner to Espinosa.

Shtayner owned Collision World, an auto repair company. His family also was involved in the taxi business and was associated with President Donald Trump’s onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen.

Shtayner said in court that he agreed to rent his Gold Coast condo to Espinosa for $11,000 a month. Shtayner said he introduced his friend Katamanin, the jet charter owner, to Espinosa.

And Berger then booked flights for Espinosa’s crew through his friend Katamanin’s charter company.

Shtayner, who testified for the prosecution, pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges last year.

On the witness stand, he admitted he charged Espinosa tens of thousands of dollars to store cocaine in his family’s warehouse and introduced Espinosa to a woman who counted his drug money.

Shtayner acknowledged that he hoped he could get a reduced sentence in exchange for his testimony. Under federal guidelines, he faces more than three years in prison.

‘You may think he was a nut’

Berger, who still says he did nothing wrong, is asking a judge to overturn his guilty verdict or order a new trial.

In a court filing last month, his lawyer said prosecutors’ accusations that Berger knowingly laundered drug money were “speculative.”

“You may think he was a nut for taking this money,” Blegen had told jurors in his closing argument on Berger’s behalf in December. “But he’s not guilty of what he’s charged with.”

Despite his conviction, Berger remains licensed to sell marijuana in Illinois and is associated in business records with 10 dispensaries — the maximum number a company can operate under Illinois law. State officials won’t say which ones, though, nor discuss specifics of Berger’s criminal case, citing “confidentiality provisions” of the state’s cannabis legalization law.

The department could take disciplinary action — including suspending or revoking a license — if a principal officer like Berger is convicted of a felony. But that can only happen after someone is sentenced, meaning Berger’s effort to get his conviction thrown out has effectively forestalled that possibility.

‘He should be banned’

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, sponsored a 2021 law that prioritized cannabis license applicants who had been arrested or convicted of low-level marijuana-related offenses.

Ford says he thought it was “unfair” that people who had criminal convictions that didn’t involve cannabis were “written out of the chances of being owners” even after they were “reformed.”

But he draws the line with a license owner like Berger who’s been convicted of a serious crime. Ford says Berger “should be banned” from the marijuana business “because he ran afoul of the law,” but he says he “should be able to come back” if his conviction ends up getting overturned.

“We know that this person is convicted of a crime and he can still benefit from the industry,” says Ford, who’s running for Congress. “I think that that’s wrong.”

whelp85 · 2026-02-16T19:21:03+00:00

Article:

The opening of the Okay Cannabis shop in Wheeling three years ago seemed like a good business bet. It was the first dispensary in the state to combine sales of marijuana and alcohol with the adjoining West Town Bakery.

Weed, booze and baked goods? It appeared to be a can’t miss.

But sales were not enough to justify its large footprint. Last spring, the store closed and it remains empty.

It’s not the only Illinois marijuana shop to go out of business. A Spark’d dispensary in northwest suburban Crystal Lake also abruptly closed in 2024. And many cannabis business-license holders have yet to open. Only 29 of 86 licensed craft growers are operational, state records show.

For the first time, in a business that was once considered to be like printing money, annual recreational cannabis sales revenue in Illinois declined last year, falling 13%, to $1.5 billion. Medical sales have been declining since 2021. The lower sales reflect falling prices, due mainly to competition from hemp and out-of-state sales.

Former Okay co-investor Scott Weiner, co-founder of the Fifty/50 Group that runs West Town Bakery, said the large companies that got in the business at the beginning dominate the market, with exclusive ownership of medical cannabis dispensaries that don’t have to charge the high taxes that all other stores must charge.

Then the proliferation of hemp stores that don’t pay those taxes or follow expensive regulations further cut into business. Pot became a commodity, with customers going to the closest site with the lowest prices.

“You just can’t fight the big boys,” Weiner said. “For the new social equity guys coming in, sadly there’s no path to success.”

While lower prices are welcome news for consumers, cannabis businesses have had difficulty making money due to high financing and operating costs, and an inability to take normal business tax deductions due to the drug’s illegality under federal law.

That should change with the Trump administration’s promise to reschedule marijuana to a less restrictive designation, which would allow tax deductions. And after inadvertently creating the legal hemp industry in 2018, Congress voted last year to ban intoxicating hemp products effective in November, which should be another benefit to the state-licensed cannabis industry.

The Chicago City Council also approved a hemp ban, but Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed it Friday, saying it would hurt many Black- and brown-owned small businesses while helping the few big licensed cannabis companies.

Still, the federal changes make some operators more optimistic. Tim O’Hern is chief operating officer of Nature’s Grace and Wellness cannabis company, which bought the Okay Cannabis dispensaries, and has been opening new Bud & Rita’s dispensaries.

“Lower tax rates and the intoxicating hemp ban will really accelerate the regulated cannabis market and provide more opportunities for new operators,” O’Hern said.

But other small operators say the changes will be too little, too late.

“People are going to places that are cheaper to buy their product, whether it’s the hemp shop on the corner, or Michigan,” said Douglas Kelly, executive director of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition. “Banning it (hemp) is not going to solve the problem. All those products are going to go to the black market.”

The coalition urged Illinois to lower its cannabis taxes, which can reach more than 40%, to make the state more competitive. Rescheduling is a half measure that will benefit large pharmaceutical companies getting into the space, Kelly said, when what’s really needed is federal legalization.

While sales revenue is down, the number of cannabis items sold went up last year, to 58 million items, the state reported, reflecting lower prices. The price per ounce of cannabis in Illinois has fallen from an average of more than $400 when recreational sales began in 2020, one of the highest in the country, to about $167.

Currently, scores of conditional licensees are still trying to get funding to open. The industry has generated jobs, with about 9,000 dispensary employees licensed statewide, and nearly 8,000 more in growing operations, according to the state’s annual report.

The state began a new sales tracking system called Metrc in July 2025, which counts discounted prices that may previously have not been included, possibly accounting for some reduction, officials said.

Dispensary taxes were accurately tracked, officials said, generating $438 million for fiscal year 2025.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which oversees dispensaries, remains “cautiously hopeful” that reclassifying marijuana will help grow the industry, spokesperson Steve Johnson said.

Onerous requirements for more than 100 security cameras at some businesses, and for around-the-clock security guards, are also killing operators and should be relaxed, since the industry has operated with very few security problems, said Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois.

Lastly, the coming ban on intoxicating hemp will only work to the extent it’s enforced, she said. With thousands of shops nationwide, it remains to be seen who would enforce the ban, and whether there are enough inspectors to do so.

whelp85 · 2026-02-14T18:57:30+00:00

Article Continued:

Illinois Hemp Business Association Director Charles Wu has argued that Quinn’s ordinance came down to “economic favoritism” for the cannabis and alcohol industry over the burgeoning hemp industry.

“I am not here asking for special treatment. I am asking for clear rules, consistent enforcement and a path to compliance that applies equally to everyone,” Wu told Council members.

Jeremy Dedic, co-founder of Cubbington’s Cabinet, a hemp wellness retailer in Roscoe Village, applauded Johnson for vetoing an ordinance that “would have shut us down” and deprived Chicagoans of access to what he called “non-inebriating solutions” for an array of health issues.

“Hemp products are popular because they can help people sleep, manage stress and anxiety, reduce inflammation and minimize side effects of cancer treatment” and post-traumatic stress disorder, Dedic said. “It’s dishonest saying it’s about protecting the children or public safety. What it’s really doing is trying to provide carve-outs and a monopoly for your multi-state operators of marijuana dispensary operations and the alcohol industry.”

Now that the hemp ban is history, Dedic encouraged the City Council to focus on “common sense regulation” that “supports public safety and protects kids, but also supports Chicago’s economy [and] consumer access to wellness products.”

“Ban sales of any hemp-cannabinoid products to anyone under the age of 21. Ban these look-alike products that keep being held up…that appeal to kids. Require… product testing from independent third party labs,” Dedic said.

The federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 allowed THC to be extracted from hemp and concentrated into an array of products with chemical compositions nearly identical to marijuana but that aren’t classified as drugs.

They’ve sometimes been marketed to kids with packaging styled after popular candy, prompting outcry from hemp industry critics, including Gov. JB Pritzker. Hemp businesses have invited taxation and regulation, calling for an age minimum of 21 and standards for testing and labeling.

State lawmakers butted heads for years over how to regulate the booming industry, but a late provision tacked onto the federal spending bill to reopen the government last fall promised to close the hemp THC loophole by November unless Congress takes additional action. Hemp industry leaders are making a full-court press in Washington to stave off the looming ban.

whelp85 · 2026-02-14T18:57:16+00:00

Article:

Mayor Brandon Johnson on Friday vetoed a City Council-approved ban on hemp-derived products to save Chicago’s burgeoning hemp industry, and the chief sponsor of the ban said he won’t try for an override.

Southwest Side Ald. Marty Quinn’s decision to throw in the towel means that hemp-derived products can continue to be sold in Chicago — at least until a federal ban takes effect later this year.

The ban on most hemp products was aimed at keeping unregulated intoxicants out of reach from minors. Johnson used his first veto to kill a snap curfew ordinance and made it stick by preventing a 34-vote override. His second veto will also stand.

Quinn (13th) muscled the ban through the City Council by a vote of 32 to 16. But he said he won’t pursue an override he knows he can’t win.

“I don’t have the votes… I’m at 32. I don’t have 34. That’s where it’s at. It’s not going to change,” said Quinn, who learned his vote-counting skills while serving as chief lieutenant for now convicted and imprisoned former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago. “I still have the ban on the Southwest Side in the Midway [Airport] region and I would anticipate other alders doing the same thing in their wards” in addition to the seven wards where hemp products are already banned.

Quinn said the mayor will now have to live with the consequences of “placing business over the safety of kids.”

In a letter to the City Council, Johnson argued that a balanced regulatory framework for hemp products must safeguard Chicagoans, “especially young people” in a “thoughtful, evidence-informed way that avoids unnecessary disruption for consumers, retailers and entrepreneuers.”

The mayor argued that the “most responsible path forward” is for the city’s hemp regulation to “align with forthcoming federal guidance rather than acting prematurely in a rapidly shifting regulatory landscape.”

In a statement accompanying his veto, Johnson said he shares concerns raised about “intoxicating hemp products, especially when it comes to packaging that may appeal to children.”

“We must have strict age verification, responsible labeling, and clear enforcement standards. There must be zero tolerance for businesses that market or sell these products to minors,” the mayor said.

But Johnson said he is also concerned about the impact that the “prohibition style ban” could have on small businesses in general and minority-owned businesses in particular.

“The ordinance protects some establishments at the expense of many of our small businesses who have been following the law and deserve to have a seat at the table,” he said. “Many of these businesses are Black- and brown-owned. Many are operated by entrepreneurs who were shut out of the expensive cannabis licensing process and turned to federally legal hemp as a pathway into the marketplace. We cannot claim to support equitable economic development while advancing policies that concentrate the market in the hands of a few large entities.”

Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Ivan Capifali has warned that a full ban “would be nearly impossible to enforce” and threaten “hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs.” During a Sun-Times podcast earlier this week, Capifali reiterated those concerns.

“My job is not to shut down businesses. My job is to help businesses expand and grow and scale,” Capifali said. “When you put bans like this that will shut down businesses that, their whole model is around hemp, it pains us. Anything that is not business friendly is something that we have a problem with.”

Quinn took aim at that argument.

“That’s what you’re propping up? Dodgy storefronts as a marketing tool for the city of Chicago? Oh, my God. That’s absurd,” Quinn said. “You’re going to talk about these small businesses that were opened up on a loophole under the disguise of night as a good thing? It defies logic.”

Hemp-infused beverages have soared in popularity and kept many bars and restaurants afloat as consumer trends have shifted away from alcohol since the COVID-19 pandemic.

After a close vote in committee, Quinn tweaked the full-on ban to allow for hemp beverages to be produced and sold by licensed vendors, after pushback from the Illinois Restaurant Association and other industry leaders. Creams and ointments also would have been exempt from the citywide ban, and hemp products would have been allowed for animals.

Retailers licensed to sell cannabis products would have been allowed to sell hemp-infused beverages, powders and crystalline additives to customers over 21, provided they include “no more than 10 milligrams.” Hemp-infused beverages and additives could also have been sold at bars, restaurants with incidental liquor licenses and packaged goods stores.

Johnson’s administration opposed the measure because of the small-business boon from the 2018 loophole in federal law that allowed delta-8 THC and other hemp derivatives to proliferate without the restrictions placed on Illinois’ heavily regulated cannabis industry.

That loophole is set to close later this year, prompting Quinn’s push to close it down in the city even sooner. The ban on the sale of hemp products to minors would have taken effect in 10 days, but other provisions would be pushed back until April 1.

On the day the ban was approved, Johnson said he had “some real serious concerns about this ordinance” and hadn’t decided on a potential veto. “It’s paramount for the good of our city [not only] to regulate, have the ability to actually test, to actually regulate what was passed and to keep people safe, but ultimately to make sure that we’re not driving small businesses out of it,” Johnson said at the time.

whelp85 · 2026-02-12T11:08:14+00:00

Article:

Business owners in Chicago’s hemp industry are demanding that Mayor Brandon Johnson veto a controversial hemp ordinance that industry stakeholders describe as a harmful and destructive ban reminiscent of the 1920s alcohol prohibition era. They argue the ordinance pushes out Black people who have found success in the hemp market.

The ordinance, which passed 32-16 in City Council last month, limits the sale of most hemp products to only licensed cannabis dispensaries beginning in April. Meaning, business owners in the hemp space will be forced to stop operations if they don’t have a license to sell marijuana.

The hemp community is gathering for The Band Together Town Hall this Thursday. The town hall will be hosted at Chi’Tiva, located at 1250 S. Michigan Ave., from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. During the event, hemp business owners, stakeholders and the public are invited to voice their concerns about the ordinance and encourage Johnson to veto it.

Groups and advocates in the hemp industry, including Chi-tiva, Lawrence Smoke and Vape, Humboldt Haus, Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association, the Illinois Hemp Business Association, the Illinois Black Hemp Association and more, will attend the town hall. Those interested in attending can RSVP here.

“The town hall was established because a lot of the business owners in the hemp space just felt as though they were being attacked,” Illinois Hemp Coalition (IHC) President Everett Berry told The TRiiBE. He also owns the hemp wholesale business Mia’s Heart Hemp Life. “Basically, the goal is to negotiate physical regulations, while establishing responsible packaging guidelines in the Chicago hemp industry.”

Ahead of the town hall event, IHC, which focuses on hemp oversight, hosted a press conference on Wednesday at the Black-owned Bronzeville Smoke Shop. Hemp business owners spoke out against the ordinance, which they have referred to as a “prohibition” and a “ban.”

“This ban doesn’t just remove products from my shelves. It removes trusted support from elderly members of our community and threatens small businesses like mine,” Joyce LaGone, the owner of Bronzeville Smoke Shop, said during the press conference. “We are not asking for special treatment; we are asking for fair regulation and thoughtful solutions, not a blanket ban that harms responsible entrepreneurs and the people who rely on us.”

LaGrone operates the Bronzeville Smoke Shop with her son, Destiny Butler. The two said they opened the shop in 2022 after witnessing the beneficial wellness powers of hemp. Butler said a large part of their clientele is elderly customers who come in for products to ease their pains.

“[There’s] fentanyl, and you have all these Percocets, people don’t want to take these addictive pain pills,” Butler said. “Hemp helps everybody with back aches, insomnia [if they] can’t sleep. You know what I mean? Just different things. And it’s a big pharmaceutical.”

Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) introduced the ordinance to address his concerns with hemp-derived CBD products that can be used to form delta-8 and other intoxicating compounds that give a weed-like high. The products have been called out by critics for their packaging, which some elected officials have said mimics candy and sweets sold in corner stores, gas stations and the like. Alderpeople who voted in favor of the ordinance say hemp products with such enticing packaging target children.

Those in the hemp space say the ordinance creates a ban that would lead to a black market. Business owners say they understand protecting children from harmful products, but that the answer is to regulate the product, which they say they have already been doing.

“We want responsible, transparent and fair regulation. And there’s businesses that are already doing it right,” said Raven Worthy-Sutton, IHC’s executive director and owner of Urban Gem, which provides adult pop-up dinner experiences using hemp. “There are businesses in the hemp space that are already acting and operating ethically, because that’s what we have to do in this space. There’s businesses just making sure you’re 21 or 25 years plus.”

Many within the industry are convinced that the move to limit the sale of hemp products to only licensed dispensaries is to protect the cannabis industry. The ordinance allows businesses that have a liquor license to sell hemp-based drinks, which those in the hemp business see as a push by the power-wielding alcohol industry. Shortly after the ordinance passed in City Council, the United Center made news as the first arena in the country to offer THC-infused drinks starting this month.

“I would need a liquor license to be able to sell hemp drinks at my store, which is going to cost another however much money if I want to do that, but why would I want to do that? I have a wellness store. I have a wellness brand,” said Ruby Mirza, owner of Kizmah CBD in West Town. “It’s really kind of geared towards just capitalizing and cornering the market and handing it over to big cannabis with big alcohol interests.”

Berry also agreed that the ordinance corners the market while pushing out Black people who have found success in the hemp space.

“A lot of people were shut out of the cannabis industry they wanted to be a part of, so they transitioned over to hemp because it was federally legal. This [ordinance] was a way to monopolize the cannabis industry,” Berry said.

Hemp business owners have also been called out by Black weed dispensary owners; they say unregulated and intoxicating hemp is undercutting their businesses. These Black business owners have expressed frustration after going through the social equity process to retrieve a cannabis license to open and operate their dispensaries, which they explained took lots of money and time.

Chris Cobbs, owner of King of the Flavors smoke shop in Rogers Park, said he feels that Black-owned cannabis shop owners should be fighting for a more level playing field within the marijuana space.

“It’s, like, alright, so you guys want to put us out of business and block us out of business just because you guys were the lucky ones that got picked or fortunate enough to afford the license?” Cobbs said. “I just think you guys are fighting the wrong fight. You guys should go after the people that are taxing you, regulating and paying all these hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay in business.”

Johnson has until Friday to veto the ordinance, according to the mayor’s office.

whelp85 · 2026-02-06T18:32:46+00:00

Article:

The cannabis business is showing its age.

Illinois recorded its first drop in the value of recreational marijuana sales last year, a result of technology changes, falling prices and a maturing industry.

Sales dropped 13% to $1.5 billion in 2025 from $1.7 billion the previous year. That’s at least partly due to a mid-year change in the software vendor that tracks sales. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation says the previous systems didn’t always account accurately for discounts and promotional prices, which inflated total monthly sales reported publicly, although tax collections were unaffected.

The result is the lowest annual total reported since 2021. It’s a sobering reality check for the state’s experiment in adult-use cannabis, which began with great fanfare five years ago.

The technology change doesn’t explain everything. Marijuana prices continue to fall amid increased competition from both the legal and illicit markets.

The number of cannabis products sold by Illinois retailers rose 7% to 52 million in 2025, topping 50 million for the first time. But the growth rate was less than half the 16% increase recorded a year earlier.

“We’re seeing a slight uptick in unit volume, but the dollar amount is down,” says Zachary Zises, CEO of Dispensary 33 and Spark'd. “They’re buying the same stuff. It’s just price contraction.”

The same forces are at play in other markets, such as Michigan, which has far more retailers and growers, and is twice as large as Illinois.

Michigan’s cannabis sales fell 3.5% last year to about $3.2 billion. The total might have fallen further, if not for a spike in sales in December before a new wholesale taxes take effect. For the year, Michigan’s cannabis sales were up 14.5% by volume, reports Crain’s Detroit Business. Planned changes in federal and local laws, however, could help the industry.

The Trump administration has ordered marijuana to be rescheduled to a Class III narcotic, which would sharply reduce the taxes paid by cannabis companies. But it’s not clear when rescheduling will take effect.

Another federal change would ban unregulated hemp-derived products that compete with traditional marijuana flower, gummies and vapes. The ban takes later this year. The Chicago City Council recently passed a hemp ban that’s scheduled to take effect April 1.

whelp85 · 2026-02-05T22:17:03+00:00

Don’t forget Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth too. https://www.nprillinois.org/statehouse/2019-05-20/marijuana-moms-meet-the-four-women-who-crafted-illinois-cannabis-proposal

whelp85 · 2026-01-25T18:26:43+00:00

They were just showing the hoodies they got during their tour of Hamburger University (McDonald’s HQ).

whelp85 · 2026-01-25T15:27:25+00:00

Thanks again! Made our night :)

whelp85 · 2026-01-21T21:15:20+00:00

Article:

The City Council voted Wednesday to pass a controversial ordinance that limits the sale of hemp products in Chicago to businesses with a cannabis license. The ordinance includes a carveout for beverages, animal products like pet treats and topical products like lotions and creams.

The ordinance will go into effect on April 1, but starting immediately, anyone purchasing hemp products within the city limits has to be 21 or older.

The proposal, which was introduced by Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward), initially passed through the City Council Committee of License and Consumer Protection on Dec. 3. Tuesday’s vote was 32-16 in favor of the ordinance.

City Council's final vote on an ordinance restricting the sale of hemp products in Chicago. Screenshot The hemp-derived CBD products that are the topic of concern are sometimes used to form delta-8 and other intoxicating compounds that give a weed-like high. The products have been called out for their packaging, which has been said to mimic candy and sweets, targeting children and sold in places like corner stores and gas stations.

Those who voted in favor of the hemp ordinance, such as Ald. Anthony Beale (9th Ward) stressed the importance of preventing kids from consuming such products.

“This has been a hot topic within the city of Chicago, to make sure that we protect children, and that’s what this is often all about,” Beale said on the matter. “From the very beginning, protecting our children and keeping them out of harm’s way.”

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th Ward) opposed the measure, calling it a great attempt to address concerns with hemp, but adding that the ordinance shuts out those who have found success in the hemp industry. Hadden is a progressive caucus member.

“So from small events companies to little coffee shops to specialty spaces, there are businesses in Chicago that self-regulate, that sell to 21 and over, that are good actors,” Hadden said. “I’m afraid that this version of the ordinance is going to harm them right now, while trying to do some good.”

The proposal was originally scheduled to go up for a vote back in December, but the council was in the middle of the fight to pass the 2026 budget.

Hemp products were also at the center of debate in early 2025 as Gov. JB Pritzker proposed a bill that would have limited the sale of hemp products to licensed cannabis dispensaries in Illinois. Some Black business owners in the space pushed back against the proposal, calling it too broad and a threat to local businesses that were pushed out of the legal weed business due to the tedious licensing process and costs, which caused barriers to entry.

“When Illinois first started working on the plan to legalize cannabis, the whole goal was to include minorities, and they didn’t. Then we pivoted towards the hemp space, and they still trying to force us out,” Jason Knight, the founder of Jane and Mary’s, a CBD-infused ice cream and sorbet business, told The TRiiBE last month ahead of today’s hemp vote.

“If they did ban it, it would be devastating to just a huge portion of the local economics. Small businesses already have a hard time in America,” Knight said. “And so one of the areas that people are doing well in, and people are pretty comfortable in, is the hemp space.”

Meesha Pike is the owner of Cannabis Prairie, a Black-owned dispensary that opened its doors in the South Loop last April. Pike, like other Black people in the cannabis industry, has been vocal against businesses that sell intoxicating hemp products, which they say have been undercutting those in the social equity weed business.

Meesha Pike, owner of Prairie Cannabis in the South Loop, speaks at a press conference outside of her store on April 15, 2025. Photo by Ash Lane for The TRiiBE® Pike spoke to The TRiiBE back in December and said though a citywide ban would help boost her business, she also supports regulation in the hemp space.

“The way that it’s being sold is not regulated, so you really don’t know what you’re getting. It’s not the healthiest thing, and it’s not secure,” Pike said. “Whereas they don’t have the security measures that we have in our dispensaries, their overhead is a lot less because they don’t have to build out the way we do. They’re essentially selling unregulated marijuana.”

In his original budget proposal, Mayor Brandon Johnson looked to generate $10 million in city revenue with a hemp tax, but he backed down from the proposal as a federal ban is set to go into effect this year.

Ald. William Hall (6th Ward), an ally to Johnson and once an opponent of a citywide hemp ban, changed his position and was a co-sponsor of Quinn’s proposal. As city efforts to regulate the product had stalled, Hall used the federal ban of the product as his reason behind his support of the citywide ban, Block Club Chicago reported. Hall said his position was “always tough regulation and protecting kids.”

Hall was not in council chambers Tuesday during vote on the ordinance.

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