Dope no more, Illinois reaps dope revenue..and minority justice

OK, cannabis is dope, but on the scale of dopes, relatively harmless compared to illegal dope like heroin and cocaine; even the legal dope alcohol and prescription pain killers that have killed hundreds of thousands this century. The direct cannabis death toll is zero. In addition, hundreds of thousands Illinoisans find it an effective stress reliever, and in times of pandemic, racial polarization and a deranged president, its demand is skyrocketing. Up till this year all of that hundreds of millions, possibly a billion in Illinois, has been spent with off-the-books street entrepreneurs, following in the footsteps of Prohibition moonshiners.

But wise, newbie Illinois Governor Pritzker legalized it January 1 to accomplish two critical policy improvements: divert much of that billion to licensed businesses and Illinois’ coffers. Possibly more important, was completion of the decriminalization of cannabis which has horribly degraded mostly minority communities with mass legal entrapment and incarceration. Pritzker’s words deserve repeating: “Illinois has done more to put justice and equity at the forefront of this industry than any other state in the nation, and we’re ensuring that communities that have been hurt by the war on drugs have the opportunity to participate”.

How financially significant is legitimizing cannabis sales? Pritzker estimated the first six months take would be $28 million. That was nearly doubled to $52 million. Not one dollar of that new revenue came from me. I learned half a century ago pot was not my cup of tea. But I fervently support wise public policy that improves society desperately needing improvement.

Illinois: a dope on dope no more.