Illinois lawmakers fail to pass legislation providing cannabis reform, hemp regulations

The legislature also punted on a bill that would have made significant changes to the state’s heavily regulated cannabis industry.

House Bills 2911 — the cannabis bill — and House Bill 4293 — the hemp bill — were sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Hillside.

The bills passed through the Senate last weekend but failed to touch the House floor before members left early Wednesday morning for the summer. 

The hemp measure would regulate the product similarly to how cannabis is regulated in terms of taxing, possession limits, testing and age restrictions, but ban sales of hemp-derived products, such as delta-8, at any business except for licensed cannabis dispensaries.

It would also allow certain retailers and manufacturers licensed under the Liquor Control Act to sell hemp-derived beverages until Jan. 20, 2025. There would be regulations on craft growers and processors so customers know what contents are in the products they buy and consume.

However, the state’s hemp industry has avidly spoken out against Lightford’s legislation since she filed it, saying it would put many of them out of business. 

This appeared to be at the center of why the bill collapsed in the House. Several lawmakers there were more sympathetic to the industry’s concerns.

State Rep. LaShawn Ford, D-Chicago, is sponsoring legislation that would place lighter regulations on the industry and, at least in their view, allow them to stay open. Ford is opposed to Lightford’s bill.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, the House sponsor of Lightford’s bill, said he looks “forward to the next steps in this vital legislative process.”

“The fact that HB 4293 did not pass the House before the final gavel this week should not be seen as a lack of willingness to regulate hemp products,” Buckner said. “Rather, it reflects our commitment to precision and intentionality in crafting legislation that will effectively address the complexities of this issue.”

Although non-intoxicating products made through extracted cannabidiols could still be sold, many brought forward concerns about how the limits in Lighford’s bill are extremely low.

“For the past three years, we have worked with members of the General Assembly and the growing hemp industry, pushing for regulations to protect consumers,” said Corynn Bradley, a representative for the therapeutic hemp industry. “However, this proposal would instead ban Illinois’ entire existing hemp industry. Proponents claim that this bill is intended to regulate hemp, and the reality is that it will regulate the hemp industry out of existence. The bottom line is that this is a ban.”

Despite the pushback, Lightford insisted it wouldn’t be a ban and that there wouldn’t be a problem if the hemp industry was doing what it was supposed to do.

“If the industry stayed in their industry hemp lane, then we wouldn’t be having a problem,” Lightford said during a committee hearing earlier this month. “… We don’t want it to create intoxicating products.”

Lightford also said the lack of regulation has put many underage people at risk due to delta-8’s dangerous effects.

“We tried to satisfy everyone’s concerns, but we can’t deny that (there are) parents across the state that continue to receive a call no one wants to receive,” Lightford said. “The call that their child has consumed delta-8 THC and is being transported to the hospital.”

During a Wednesday press conference, Gov. J.B. Pritzker echoed Lightford’s concerns, saying he believes the industry should be regulated.

“I believe an unregulated product like this, which clearly has caused some health problems, ought to be regulated by the state,” Pritzker said. “How the implementation of specific parts of regulation (works), I wouldn’t jump into myself. I’m not an expert, but what I would say is that it’s clear that it is not for medicinal purposes, it’s not regulated the way cannabis is, and yet it ends up on the market. There’s no restriction on who gets it, how much they can get … so I really believe that we need to step back and ask what is in the best interest of the health of kids and adults across the state, and I think regulating it is proper.”

The cannabis legislation also failed to cross the finish line.

During Senate floor debate last weekend, Lightford said House Bill 2911 would tackle many issues the cannabis industry has faced since the state legalized recreational use in 2019, and includes 14 different provisions to address these issues.

Among those provisions are the addition of curbside pickup and drive-thru windows to all dispensaries, expanding craft growers to 14,000 square feet, creating a new consolidated transport center license, and allowing medical patients to be prescribed medical cannabis through telehealth. The bill also requires that all cannabis testing facilities be licensed, removes redundant labor requirements to reduce regulatory burdens, and takes out the mandate for odor-proof cannabis containers. 

Additionally, the bill would remove the list of excluded offenses that prohibit someone from being employed at a medical cannabis facility. It allows the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to use a lottery system to award social equity grants and loans to those wanting to own and operate dispensaries. It also provides the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture the authority to unify the employee badging system. 

“The legalization of marijuana was a monumental achievement, but it was just the beginning of a much larger journey,” Lightford said. “While we celebrate this progress, we must also recognize that there are several critical steps still needed to ensure that the benefits of legalization are fully realized and equitably distributed. With any massive piece of legislation, sometimes loopholes and unattended consequences happen, and they must be tackled at a later date.” 

Lightford said the legislation also requires the Department of Agriculture to maintain a non-payment for goods or services list of dispensary organizations that do not pay a craft grower, infuser or cultivator fee for the cannabis they intend to sell at their dispensaries — similar to how the state’s liquor laws work. 

It also establishes standards and market protections against unfair business practices and expands requirements for HVAC equipment. The legislation also updates the medical use cultivation privilege tax section and other department revenue tax cleanups. 

While Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said in a statement May 26 that the organization supports most of the bill, she added the association is disappointed that the bill sponsor removed a provision that would extend the sales of medical marijuana to all licensed dispensaries. 

“While there are numerous provisions in this legislation that we applaud, such as additional support for social equity license holders and needed flexibility for transporters, we are disheartened this measure will no longer allow for sales to medical patients at all dispensaries,” Chappell Ingram said. 

Ford, HB 2911’s House sponsor, didn’t respond to request for comment. 

Chappell Ingram said in an emailed statement Wednesday that CBAI is disappointed in the House for not taking up the bills, but she echoed Buckner and said the organization looks forward to continuing talks with lawmakers over time. 

“We are disappointed the House failed to pass needed reforms to our state’s cannabis laws and will continue to allow synthetic hemp products that are sickening children and adults to be sold with no oversight,” Chappell Ingram said. “Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for these measures in the Senate, there is clearly more work to do to educate legislators about these important matters.”

Conversations are expected to continue over the summer, and the issues could be addressed again during the fall veto session in November.