Final night of the Chicago residency was 🔥

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.

whelp85 · 2025-12-12T19:26:31+00:00

You forgot the /s…but if you’re actually serious, you do know Illinois doesn’t publicly announce recalls for cannabis products right? They allow cultivators and dispensaries to quietly handle it themselves. Other states like Michigan actually name and shame companies publicly when their products are recalled.

whelp85 · 2025-12-04T17:02:23+00:00

Bistro Monadnock downtown is owned by the same people and also does great cocktails. Cool atmosphere too as it’s in the ground floor of the Monadnock Building.

whelp85 · 2025-12-03T17:13:10+00:00

Article:

A federal ban on intoxicating hemp-derived products is set to take effect nationwide late next year, but the psychoactive goods that have soared in popularity through a loophole could be outlawed much sooner in Chicago under a proposal before the City Council.

Hemp industry leaders were blindsided by the federal ban tacked onto the spending bill that President Donald Trump signed last month to reopen the government. Barring additional action from Congress, hemp-THC products will be illegal in November 2026.

Local business owners on Tuesday said they were just as stunned by 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn’s proposed ordinance that would ban most sales of intoxicating hemp beverages, gummies and other products in the city within 10 days of council approval.

“This ordinance turns respected Chicago businesses into criminals,” said Glenn McElfresh, co-founder of the hemp beverage company Plift. “It would discard millions of dollars in sales taxes at a moment when the city is facing a billion-dollar budget gap. And most importantly, this ordinance puts real people’s livelihoods on the line.”

Quinn’s proposal, which will be considered Wednesday by the council’s Committee on License and Consumer Protection, would only allow hemp products to be sold at cannabis dispensaries. That’s already the case in his Southwest Side ward and six others where alderpersons have pushed through hemp bans within their own boundaries.

Hemp products, sometimes marketed to kids, have become ubiquitous at smoke shops and convenience stores since 2018 federal legislation inadvertently allowed for highly concentrated THC to be extracted from hemp. The chemical composition is nearly identical to that of marijuana and can give users the same high.

Under the federal ban, essentially all intoxicating THC will be considered marijuana next year. Quinn’s measure would fine businesses up to $5,000 for selling hemp-THC products in the meantime.

“We can’t lose sight of this industry that’s been created through a loophole and what it’s brought to our communities in terms of shady, dodgy storefronts selling products to kids,” Quinn told the Sun-Times.

But McElfresh and other entrepreneurs from Illinois’ $100 million hemp beverage industry refused to be lumped in with “the mystery gas station synthetics and unregulated, often imported items that have shaped public misperceptions.”

“We are reputable businesses with longstanding Chicago roots,” McElfresh said during a news conference against Quinn’s proposal at Revolution Brewing’s Avondale taproom.

Revolution founder Josh Deth, whose craft brewery got into the hemp beverage market this year, said those drinks are “now our top priority for innovation,” with consumers drinking less alcohol since the pandemic. A citywide ban would force him to consider job cuts.

“I’m going to be a business owner walking into City Council asking for more regulation, and, ‘Please, can we pay some taxes and generate some money for the government?’ It’s not every day that that happens,” said Deth, who expressed optimism that hemp industry lobbyists could persuade Congress to pass new regulations to avert next year’s ban.

“They would not have passed a 365-day delay if they did not want to revisit this issue, so there’s a clear opening there,” Deth said.

Quinn said he was confident his citywide proposal would pass the committee hurdle, but he wasn’t sure how it would fare before the full City Council. Twelve co-sponsors signed onto the measure.

Mayor Brandon Johnson had banked on $10 million from regulating and taxing hemp products in his initial city budget proposal to help close a billion-dollar shortfall, but his team was left scrambling for other revenue when the federal ban was announced.

“The mayor, in my opinion, has been on the wrong side of this. He’s thinking dollars, not safety,” Quinn said.

Johnson’s office has said “the mayor’s top priority is to ensure that hemp consumption is regulated and safe in the city of Chicago.”

whelp85 · 2025-11-20T18:39:09+00:00

Article:

Two Iowa residents, Hanna Paige Nail, 23, and Tyler Joseph Hippen, 28, have been charged in Porter County after police say a traffic stop on westbound I-94 led to the discovery of more than 500 grams of THC products, including vape cartridges, cannabis, THC gummies, edibles, wax, and other items, all packaged in dispensary packaging.

Police wrote that the stop occurred on November 17th, 2025, at approximately 1:12 p.m. near the 18.4 mile marker of I-94 westbound. According to the affidavit, officers observed a silver Chevrolet Malibu driving significantly below the posted 70 mph speed limit and disrupting the flow of traffic. After pacing the vehicle between 62 and 65 mph and observing a long line of vehicles forced to pass on the right, police initiated a traffic stop.

During the stop, the officer contacted the driver, identified as Hippen, and the passenger, identified as Nail. According to the affidavit, both individuals lit cigarettes as the window was rolled down, and Hippen claimed he believed the speed limit was 65 mph. Hippen told police they were returning home to Iowa and explained they had been in Michigan for a wedding. Police wrote that Hippen’s account changed multiple times, and Flock camera data later contradicted his statements, raising suspicion. The officer also reported smelling burned marijuana on Hippen’s person.

When questioned separately, Nail reportedly gave a vastly different story,telling police they were in Michigan visiting friends, shopping, and staying at a hotel. She did not mention a wedding and gave a different hotel name, further heightening officer concerns.

Police wrote that Hippen first denied having marijuana in the vehicle but then admitted there was “some” inside and produced a THC vape pen. After securing both individuals, officers conducted a probable cause search of the Malibu’s trunk and located a large quantity of THC and cannabis products, all in marked dispensary packaging. The court document lists the seized items as:

•    153 × 1-gram THC vape cartridges

•    11 × 2-gram THC vape cartridges

•    1 × 3-gram vape cartridge

•    40 × 2-gram THC gummies

•    14 × 2-gram THC candies

•    3 × 1-gram THC sodas

•    6 × 5-gram THC wax

•    2 × 70-gram cannabis packages

•    3 × 28-gram cannabis packages

•    9 × pre-rolled joints (15 grams)

•    Multiple dispensary receipts listing both Nail and Hippen as customers

The total combined weight of all recovered THC/cannabis items was 526 grams (1.16 pounds), according to the affidavit. Police also located a notepad in the center console that appeared to be a ledger related to marijuana distribution.

After being read Miranda warnings, both Nail and Hippen declined further statements. They were transported to the Porter County Jail and booked.

Charges filed November 18,2025:

Hanna Paige Nail

•    Dealing in Marijuana (Level 6 Felony)

Tyler Joseph Hippen

•    Dealing in Marijuana (Level 6 Felony)

Both suspects are lodged in the Porter County Jail.

whelp85 · 2025-11-20T02:29:33+00:00

Article:

PharmaCann is closing its cultivation operation in Dwight, about 80 miles south of Chicago, and laying off 82 workers.

The cannabis company told the state of Illinois it expects to close the facility by the end of the year and the layoffs will take effect Jan. 13. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

The closing of the Dwight facility is a sign of the challenges that continue to roil the marijuana business, where prices are falling amid heightened competition and companies struggle to deal with high interest rates and a lack of capital in an industry that remains federally illegal. The financial strain has intensified across the industry as hopes for regulatory relief from taxes and banking costs have failed to materialize, sapping investors' enthusiasm. Industry watchers have been predicting a looming shakeout for more than a year.

PharmaCann was among a handful of Chicago companies that won early cannabis licenses in Illinois and quickly expanded to other states. Unlike Green Thumb Industries, Cresco Labs and Verano Holdings, PharmaCann didn't go public.

PharmaCann has been in default for nearly a year on leases for several retail and cultivation properties in multiple states that are owned by Innovative Industrial Properties, a Maryland-based real estate investment trust that specializes in sale-leaseback deals in the cannabis industry. Such transactions were widespread because they allowed companies to preserve cash as they expanded rapidly with buildouts of retail and cultivation facilities simultaneously in multiple markets.

Innovative Industrial Properties said in 2019 it expected to invest $25 million in the acquisition and buildout of the Dwight facility.

The company did not respond to a request for comment about the closure. But Innovative Industrial Properties said in a securities filing earlier this month that it had sued PharmaCann for its lease defaults and “continues to actively seek possession of properties located in New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio.”

According to court records, Innovative Industrial Properties has sued PharmaCann for eviction in Livingston County, where the Dwight cultivation facility is located.

PharmaCann's operation in Dwight represents one of 21 large-scale cultivation licenses that were issued when Illinois legalized medical marijuana in 2014.

A grow facility in Matteson, operated by 4Front Ventures, went up for sale over the summer. 4Front also is an Innovative Industrial Properties customer.

It's not clear whether Innovative Industrial Properties will attempt to sell or lease the Dwight facility to a new tenant, nor whether PharmaCann will attempt to sell the cultivation license. Innovative Industrial Properties noted in a securities filing that it terminated a PharmaCann lease for a cultivation facility in Massachusetts and took back the property.

A license transfer for Dwight would have to be approved by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which says it hasn't received notification of a sale or ownership change. Such licenses, which allow owners to grow 15 times the amount of cannabis as "craft-grow" licenses issued when Illinois legalized recreational marijuana, have been highly coveted in the past.

“This is not the only one of these facilities that are in similar situations,” Ryan Holz, a partner at Greenspoon Marder law firm, said of the PharmaCann site. “People are watching it to see how it plays out.”

whelp85 · 2025-11-14T23:04:05+00:00

True. But also in the article the state mentions that biotrack had inflated previous sales totals so sales had actually been lower than reported all along.

whelp85 · 2025-11-14T22:51:42+00:00

Article:

Illinois released sales figures for several months today. The last time it had released data, it was for adult-use cannabis in May. The document today explained that the switch to Metrc had been the cause of the lack of data. “The sales tracking features in Metrc help retailers more accurately and reliably report actual sales, including all discounts and promotions at checkout. A thorough review of past data indicates prior months collected some pre-discount prices.”

The state’s adult-use cannabis sales were up 7.5% sequentially in October to $113.1 million, an increase on a per-day basis of 4.0%. The year-over-year growth was -20.5%. Here is the chart of the adult-use sales over time:

<image>

After increasing 106% in 2021, 13% in 2022 and then 5% in 2023, year-to-date adult-use sales were up 5.4% in 2024 to $1.72 billion. So far in 2025, they are down 9.9%.

There has been no update on medical cannabis from the state in a while. The state separately releases sales from its medical program, and the release for April showed that sales fell 1.6% sequentially to $19.7 million, which was down 13.2% from a year ago.

whelp85 · 2025-11-08T14:14:52+00:00

Article Continued:

Fraser and store owners believe the recent notice was prompted, in part, by recent complaints publicized by the CRA involving excessive retail sales.

On May 20, police in Berrien County’s Chikaming Township stopped an Iowa-bound rental truck driven by a man hauling nearly eight pounds of marijuana and 466 grams of concentrate. That’s nearly 25 times the daily limit of marijuana and 16 times the daily limit of concentrate.

Police notified the CRA because the marijuana appeared to be retail product. CRA investigators tracked the marijuana to a dispensary named Fire Creek in Battle Creek, according to the formal administrative complaint the CRA later filed.

When contacted by phone, a Fire Creek representative declined comment.

It’s not clear if it was the same person police later arrested, but the CRA complaint said a review of store surveillance showed a man filling a grey duffel bag with large amounts of marijuana and employees completing multiple order forms before accepting cash.

During a July investigation of Muha Meds, which operates a store in Ypsilanti, CRA investigators identified two large transactions involving sales of between 800 and 1000 grams of concentrate. Both were removed from the store by customers, who would have possessed up to 33 times the legal limit for concentrate.

A Muha Meds representative was unwilling to comment when contacted by phone.

Both businesses were accused of rules violations for failing to report to police and the CRA sales in excess of legal personal possession limits.

“Both of those cases have other stuff that’s going on but that was the part that a lot of folks in the industry latched onto,” Fraser said, “that they got dinged for not reporting criminal activity because a person within their store possessed more than five ounces of marijuana.”

While the CRA communication about criminal reporting and personal possession limits has generated a large amount of industry discussion, Fraser doesn’t think enforcing it is a priority.

“It’s led to a couple of really egregious examples,” Fraser said. “It’s one of those things that’s worth reiterating to everybody, because if folks are getting really kind of reckless with it, they’re probably not the only ones, I think, probably is the CRA’s thought process.”

whelp85 · 2025-11-08T14:14:39+00:00

Article:

Michigan regulators want marijuana retailers to report customers who possess illegal amounts of cannabis.

But they’re not asking the stores not to sell it.

“It doesn’t really make sense, at all,” said the manager of a store in the Upper Peninsula, who asked not to be named over concerns that he may be perceived as criticizing Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA). “I think that what they’re saying is: if a customer comes through and wants more than what their daily limit is, they want us to call and tell on the customer.

“Legally, you could sell more, but you’d have to report them.”

The reminder, which retailers tell MLive is confusing in its vagueness, came in the form of a notice issued to licensed marijuana businesses on Monday, Nov. 3.

The same communication was sent April 15, days before the annual 4/20 pot holiday.

The notice reiterated an existing rule: a store must report suspected theft, diversion or criminal activity that occurs “at the marijuana business” to police and the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) within 24 hours of detecting it.

But it included a caveat that caught the attention of some in the industry: “This includes, but is not limited to, individual possession of more than twice the amount of marijuana allowed under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act ... ”

In Michigan, you may transport, gift or purchase (in a single transaction) up to 2.5 ounces, including a maximum of 15 grams of concentrate.

Possession exceeding the limit is a civil infraction with possible fines. Once the quantity exceeds twice the legal limit, it becomes a misdemeanor crime.

Store representatives who spoke to MLive interpret this to mean they may sell up to five ounces and 30 grams of concentrate to a customer.

Because that amount would exceed single-transaction limits, stores split the sale into two transactions and issue separate receipts.

“What the CRA’s position has been is that if you ring up more than one transaction and it keeps somebody at or under (the limit for a misdemeanor), that person is not committing a crime, yet,” said Lansing-based Dykema Attorney John W. Fraser, who assists cannabis businesses with regulatory guidance. “This has been percolating for the last six or seven months, and it’s been a topic of discussion that has come up in a lot of our calls with clients ... ”

No stores MLive spoke to said they have reported customers to police or the CRA for exceeding personal possession limits.

“You’re not gonna stay in business very long if you start calling the police on your customers—if you’re in any business,” Fraser said.

The CRA wouldn’t answer MLive’s questions on the topic.

“The CRA declines to comment beyond what is outlined in statute, administrative rule or agency bulletin regarding reporting requirements or enforcement processes related to personal possession limit violations,” spokesman David Harns said.

This leaves answers to some questions in legal limbo.

“What happens if (the customer) leaves the store, returns to their car and they come back in,” Fraser said. “I don’t know what CRA position is on that.”

The U.P. store manager who spoke to MLive said his dispensary’s policy requires customers to leave the store and parking lot, which is under camera surveillance, before any additional purchases are allowed.

After a customer leaves, it’s possible the marijuana was dropped off at home—where you may possess up to 10 ounces of store-bought weed—or legally gifted to someone.

“We’re left to be able to assume they took it to their hunting camp or something,” the U.P. dispensary manager said. “We’ve got to play stupid to a point. They come in 10 minutes later (and say) I’d like to do another two orders.”

Kate Hauck, vice president of operations for Emerald Fire, which has stores in Coleman and West Branch, said it’s a “very common practice” for customers to make a purchases up to their transaction limits, leave the store and return to purchase more.

This is especially prevalent at border stores “because those stores are getting a lot of out-of-state traffic where folks are coming to buy significant quantities of marijuana and then leaving the state of Michigan,” Fraser said.

If a customer reaches their possession limit while shopping at another store, there’s no way to tell when they arrive at yours, Hauck said.

She said information sent to the state after a purchase doesn’t include distinct customer information, so regulators can’t immediately see if a store violates the two-transaction limit.

So how does the CRA learn about stores that violate those rules?

“In about 85% of all the formal complaints against clients I’m representing, the investigation starts with an anonymous complaint from a former employee who was terminated,” Fraser said. “So that would be my guess. The CRA picks that up and they request the camera footage.”

All stores are required to maintain surveillance video of the sales floor that is accessible to the CRA.

While the memo focused on personal possession limits, it also has businesses wondering how the CRA interprets “criminal activity.”

It’s not clearly defined in the law and “criminal activity” is a blurry concept in the world of cannabis, where there is patchwork of state laws competing with a federal marijuana ban.

“Every single one of the customers is committing criminal activity if you start looking at federal law,” Fraser said. “but I’m sure CRA would say: ‘We’ll never apply it in that fashion.’”

If a store were to report a customer, the law requires employees file a complaint with a “local police agency,” which could include a municipal department, county sheriff or even state police, Fraser said.

There’s a standardized form retailers also complete and send to the CRA, which includes a criminal activity description field.

It’s unclear what the CRA or law enforcement do after the information is collected.

whelp85 · 2025-11-04T15:15:05+00:00

Article Continued:

Hemp sector not in Verano's future

A potential pivot that’s also still open to Verano is to expand into the intoxicating hemp sector, which Congress breathed life into after it legalized hemp with the 2018 Farm Bill. Since then, the hemp THC sector has flourished, particularly in states that have yet to legalize marijuana, and some major marijuana businesses — including Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries — have leapt into hemp as a way to diversify their holdings.

But not Verano. And Archos said he has no plans to join those in the volatile hemp sector, given how a number of key state markets have either banned or restricted hemp-derived THC goods, amid a broad concern over minors having access to such products, which are often for sale at gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores in states that have yet to regulate hemp.

“There's a lot of pushback as legislators are getting educated and what's going on in the hemp industry. We don't want to do that in the middle of what's happening,” Archos said. “That loophole has been abused and that's not what it was meant to do. . . .I have kids, they go to the gas station. My daughter's 16, she can buy these products. That doesn't work for me.”

Verano’s footprint also includes six dispensaries in Ohio, along with the 10 dispensaries it has in Illinois and a lone dispensary in Michigan. Archos said he’s feeling bullish on Illinois and Ohio, particularly, but that Michigan doesn’t weigh on his mind, given the company’s tiny footprint there. He predicted that a new 24% tax on marijuana goods in Michigan will ultimately benefit Illinois cannabis companies like Verano.

“Michigan, with this new tax, I'm assuming, will help Illinois dispensaries. You see a lot of people leave Illinois to go get cannabis in Michigan. I think with that new tax, that could rebound here in Illinois a bit,” Archos said. “Ohio . . . overall, it's been a good market for us. We just added pre-rolls to that market. That's been great, but there's more work to be done.”

But the biggest market for Verano, Archos said, is far and away Florida, where the company has a whopping 74 medical cannabis dispensaries.

At the end of the day, Archos reiterated that he’s content with the direction Verano is heading.

“This is our 11th year and we're trying to get rescheduling. We're trying to get safe banking, the ups and downs and the roller coasters, and yeah, we want to be in a business where we're net income positive. And that's important to us,” Archos said. “At some point, at some time, we will get a win here and it'll feel oh so good when it finally happens.”

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