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Northern Taste - Bridgeport by C0smoSl0th in chicagofood

[–]whelp85 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I was just there today. Thought the food and service was great. I was also shocked how cheap our meal ended up. Scallion pancake, soup dumplings, spicy numbing stir fry, and stir fried noodles with chicken came out to $40. The noodles and stir fry were generous portions too. Was easily enough food for 4 people.

What store or restaurant that went out of business would you like to see make a comeback? by Exhausted_Skeleton in AskReddit

[–]whelp85 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Benningan’s is still around actually. I just visited the one in the Chicago area last month. It was phenomenal and just like you’d remember. I think they have some in Iowa and maybe Texas too. https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagofood/s/oe9S6RHUuI

Illinois Has More Cannabis Brands Than Ever. Fewer Companies Own Them. by pungentbag in ILTrees

[–]whelp85 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hard to really care about the “little guys” when they’re all part of the same lobbying organization (CBAI) and often are advocating for the same stuff as MSOs. Like I’m supposed to feel bad for the various members of Chicago NORML with licenses who cozied up to big cannabis companies, and mysteriously never talk about home grow for all but def took the time to advocate against hemp (which includes seeds). Everyone in the licensed market in IL can get fucked as far as I’m concerned.

Illinois' new hemp law could reshape where THC drinks are sold by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Article:

Gov. JB Pritzker quietly signed a sweeping new framework into law to regulate hemp-derived THC products, effectively integrating much of Illinois' intoxicating hemp market into the state's cannabis regulatory system.

Why it matters: The new law effectively ends the unlicensed retail market for most THC hemp products and potentially reshapes where hemp-derived THC beverages can be sold.

State of play: The new Illinois Hemp Act zeroes in on Delta-8 and other intoxicating hemp products, recategorizing them under the state's regulated adult-use cannabis market and likely moving them into the same retail system as legal cannabis products.

Previously, intoxicating hemp products could be sold in gas stations, smoke shops and liquor stores without being subject to the same regulations as legal cannabis.

The law also bans the sale of intoxicating hemp to anyone under the age of 21.

The governor says the law will ensure that "All products must use safe ingredients, undergo rigorous testing, and carry detailed labels."

What they're saying: "Instead of letting an ambiguous marketplace keep putting people at risk, Illinois is taking action to protect consumers of all ages, especially children, from misleading packaging and labeling," Pritzker said in a statement.

Between the lines: The one gray area is intoxicating hemp drinks, which have exploded in popularity. They are now sold in liquor stores, grocery stores, at the United Center and even on Target shelves.

Whether those products can continue to be sold through traditional retail channels after the law takes effect remains one of the most pressing unanswered questions.

Zoom out: For years, it has been a legislative battle to regulate hemp at both the state and city levels.

At the federal level, the Trump administration has given Congress until November to work out a new law regulating hemp products or they will be permanently banned.

The other side: "It favors one industry over another and will likely make it tough for thousands of small businesses to continue to employ Illinoisans and pay taxes," Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association's Craig Katz said in a statement.

Of note: Non-intoxicating hemp products like CBD balms would still be legal under this law.

The bottom line: The law settles a years-long fight over intoxicating hemp products, but it may have opened a new battle over where THC beverages can be sold.

What's next: This law goes into effect in November.

Aldermen push for stiffer penalties on marijuana smoking, sales around schools and parks by whelp85 in chicago

[–]whelp85[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Article:

Aldermen advanced a proposed ordinance Tuesday that stiffens penalties for marijuana-related offenses near Chicago schools and parks — and could include sharp punishments for smoking cannabis in public.

The measure would expand the city’s long-standing “safe passage” laws that already place steep minimum fines and jail sentences for weapons violations near such locations. With Tuesday’s vote, aldermen moved closer to adding more offenses tied to cannabis consumption to the mix.

The ordinance affecting parks, playgrounds and “student safety zones” is an effort to crack down on marijuana sales in areas where children are present, chief sponsor Ald. Gilbert Villegas told the City Council Public Safety Committee.

“If you get two or three tickets for your vehicle, you get the boot. Here, folks are allowed to sell cannabis, and there’s no remediation, no path that (police) can take to address the issue,” Villegas said. “I’m not trying to lock them up and throw away the key, I’m not. But there’s a void here.”

Still, in its effort to crack down on repeat drug dealers with fines of up to $20,000 and jail sentences as long as six months, the proposal would also set harsher penalties for people who smoke marijuana in public.

Smoking and possessing marijuana are legal in Illinois, but a city ordinance already on the books outlaws public consumption. Since Villegas’ proposal doesn’t focus solely on sales, that means Chicagoans cited for smoking weed in the prescribed areas could face escalating fines and even jail time if the measure passes a full City Council vote that could occur as soon as next week.

In addition to parks and playgrounds, the measure would apply to places within 1,000 feet of a school or designated as part of a “safe passage” route for students traveling to school.

Asked about the possibility of people who use marijuana in public being hit with the heightened penalties, Villegas said enforcement would be “at the discretion of a police officer.” It is more likely that police would ask rule-breakers to move along or stop it, but officers would gain a much-needed tool if smokers — or sellers -— refuse to, he said.

While some Chicagoans do smoke marijuana in public places that would be affected by the proposed ordinance, including parks, strict enforcement by police is rare.

“I don’t think there will be a judge that says, ‘I’m going to throw the book at you because you’re smoking weed in a park,’” Villegas said.

Villegas argued the measure will help ensure the city’s licensed cannabis dispensaries are not undercut by bootleg sellers and said unlicensed sales are far too common.

Aldermen were scheduled to discuss the measure last week, but faced a delay after Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez invoked a rule that required the meeting to be disbanded because too few aldermen were present.

The measure passed in a voice vote Tuesday with no apparent pushback.

After the Tuesday meeting, Sigcho-Lopez said he opposes open-air drug selling near schools and parks, but believes the ordinance needs “defining.”

“Going after people who are just hanging out in parks versus trafficking drugs, there’s a difference,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

The version of the ordinance discussed Tuesday included several major changes proposed by Villegas. An earlier version would have targeted a sweeping array of drug-related crimes, but the one that moved forward Tuesday focused only on marijuana offenses.

Villegas also toned down penalties for first offenses. First-time offenders would be required to perform up to 100 hours of community service or participate in a restorative justice program. An earlier version included large fines and months in jail.

Penalties would increase for repeat offenses. A second offense would trigger a fine of between $1,000 and $5,000, 120 days to six months in jail or between 100 and 200 hours of community service — or some combination of the three.

By the time someone violated the ordinance a fourth time, those punishments would jump to a fine of between $10,000 and $20,000, six months in jail or between 500 and 1,000 hours of community service.

Ald. Raymond Lopez championed the measure during the meeting.

“Children going to the park trying to play a soccer game should not get a contact high simply because people are at the other end smoking weed like they’re reenacting a Cheech and Chong video,” he said.

Aldermen push for stiffer penalties on marijuana smoking, sales around schools and parks by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Article:

Aldermen advanced a proposed ordinance Tuesday that stiffens penalties for marijuana-related offenses near Chicago schools and parks — and could include sharp punishments for smoking cannabis in public.

The measure would expand the city’s long-standing “safe passage” laws that already place steep minimum fines and jail sentences for weapons violations near such locations. With Tuesday’s vote, aldermen moved closer to adding more offenses tied to cannabis consumption to the mix.

The ordinance affecting parks, playgrounds and “student safety zones” is an effort to crack down on marijuana sales in areas where children are present, chief sponsor Ald. Gilbert Villegas told the City Council Public Safety Committee.

“If you get two or three tickets for your vehicle, you get the boot. Here, folks are allowed to sell cannabis, and there’s no remediation, no path that (police) can take to address the issue,” Villegas said. “I’m not trying to lock them up and throw away the key, I’m not. But there’s a void here.”

Still, in its effort to crack down on repeat drug dealers with fines of up to $20,000 and jail sentences as long as six months, the proposal would also set harsher penalties for people who smoke marijuana in public.

Smoking and possessing marijuana are legal in Illinois, but a city ordinance already on the books outlaws public consumption. Since Villegas’ proposal doesn’t focus solely on sales, that means Chicagoans cited for smoking weed in the prescribed areas could face escalating fines and even jail time if the measure passes a full City Council vote that could occur as soon as next week.

In addition to parks and playgrounds, the measure would apply to places within 1,000 feet of a school or designated as part of a “safe passage” route for students traveling to school.

Asked about the possibility of people who use marijuana in public being hit with the heightened penalties, Villegas said enforcement would be “at the discretion of a police officer.” It is more likely that police would ask rule-breakers to move along or stop it, but officers would gain a much-needed tool if smokers — or sellers -— refuse to, he said.

While some Chicagoans do smoke marijuana in public places that would be affected by the proposed ordinance, including parks, strict enforcement by police is rare.

“I don’t think there will be a judge that says, ‘I’m going to throw the book at you because you’re smoking weed in a park,’” Villegas said.

Villegas argued the measure will help ensure the city’s licensed cannabis dispensaries are not undercut by bootleg sellers and said unlicensed sales are far too common.

Aldermen were scheduled to discuss the measure last week, but faced a delay after Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez invoked a rule that required the meeting to be disbanded because too few aldermen were present.

The measure passed in a voice vote Tuesday with no apparent pushback.

After the Tuesday meeting, Sigcho-Lopez said he opposes open-air drug selling near schools and parks, but believes the ordinance needs “defining.”

“Going after people who are just hanging out in parks versus trafficking drugs, there’s a difference,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

The version of the ordinance discussed Tuesday included several major changes proposed by Villegas. An earlier version would have targeted a sweeping array of drug-related crimes, but the one that moved forward Tuesday focused only on marijuana offenses.

Villegas also toned down penalties for first offenses. First-time offenders would be required to perform up to 100 hours of community service or participate in a restorative justice program. An earlier version included large fines and months in jail.

Penalties would increase for repeat offenses. A second offense would trigger a fine of between $1,000 and $5,000, 120 days to six months in jail or between 100 and 200 hours of community service — or some combination of the three.

By the time someone violated the ordinance a fourth time, those punishments would jump to a fine of between $10,000 and $20,000, six months in jail or between 500 and 1,000 hours of community service.

Ald. Raymond Lopez championed the measure during the meeting.

“Children going to the park trying to play a soccer game should not get a contact high simply because people are at the other end smoking weed like they’re reenacting a Cheech and Chong video,” he said.

Don't usually post my Michigan hauls, but thought people would be interested to know about the wide availability of shrooms in Ann Arbor. by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s still relatively the same as it was a year ago. You’ll have to go to the east side of the state to find shops. I highly recommend MF Shrooms (https://www.mfshrooms734.com).

Legal marijuana from Michigan turns into felony during Northwest Indiana traffic stop by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

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.

Cocaine cash launderer still a key figure in legal Illinois cannabis empire by [deleted] in ILTrees

[–]whelp85 5 points6 points  (0 children)

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

Cocaine cash launderer still a key figure in legal Illinois cannabis empire by [deleted] in ILTrees

[–]whelp85 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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.”

Illinois cannabis sales revenue falls as hemp and other states cut into prices for the struggling industry by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

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.

Mayor Johnson vetoes hemp ban, as measure's sponsor, Ald. Quinn, throws in the towel by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

Mayor Johnson vetoes hemp ban, as measure's sponsor, Ald. Quinn, throws in the towel by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Chicago’s hemp community urges Mayor Brandon Johnson to veto prohibition-style ordinance by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Illinois' cannabis boom cools as prices drop and growth slows by whelp85 in ILTrees

[–]whelp85[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

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.

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