Marijuana

Hemp products often mislabeled, posing potential danger to consumers, Chicago researcher finds

Lab tests of hemp products sold in Chicago showed wildly varying levels of THC and unexpected cannabinoids in edibles and flowers. Lawmakers are calling for the items to be regulated.

By Stephanie Zimmermann and Tom Schuba

Marijuana

Chicago's former top lawyer faces complaint for role in doomed plan to open pot shop at old Rainforest Cafe

Former Corporation Counsel Mara Georges allegedly made statements to a city official that were “prejudicial, generally unsupported, and contained hearsay and slander,” according to the complaint to Illinois’ attorney oversight commission.

By Tom Schuba

Casey Moyer, left, and Kydric Estes inspect the infused-gummy producing machine inside Baked Buds production facility on the Near West Side.

Marijuana

Cannabis infuser opens on Near West Side: ‘It’s surreal. I’m dealing with stuff I would’ve gone to jail for’

Baked Buds produces three varieties of cannabis-infused gummies.

By Michael Loria

Employees of Rise Dispensary located at 9621 N. Milwaukee Ave. picket outside their store demanding better working conditions and fair pay, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, in Niles, Ill.

Marijuana

Weed workers walk: Rise marijuana dispensary employees strike in Niles, Joliet

Union representatives said the strike is over unfair labor practices. They have been in negotiations with the company on a new contract since June.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Crime

A new leaf: Legal assistance to expunge pot convictions goes unused across Illinois

Three years after pot was legalized, legal aid groups have been surprised by the small number of residents seeking out help clearing marijuana arrests from their records.

By Andy Grimm

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs legislation aiming to strengthen “the most equity-centric adult-use cannabis law in the nation” during a press conference at Cabrini Green Legal Aid, Dec. 4, 2019.

Marijuana

Think your marijuana case has been wiped off your record? You might want to check — and get some help

State law and sweeping moves by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and State’s Attorney Kim Foxx cleared cannabis convictions off the books, but many cases have not been expunged.

By Andy Grimm

Marijuana

How an out-of-state pot firm used a shooting victim in a bid to score social equity licenses in Illinois

Edna Peterson was searching for a job on Craigslist earlier this year and came across an offer that sounded too good to be true: “Interested in a quick $2,000?”

By Tom Schuba and David Struett

Dr. Kuei Tseng at his laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Weed’s impact on teenagers? UIC neuroscientist uses rats to study marijuana’s effects on adolescent brains

By Zachary Nauth | WBEZ

Marijuana

Cannabis operator MedMen considers selling stores in Oak Park, Morton Grove

MedMen Enterprises said it is also reviewing other asset sales as it attempts to narrow losses.

By David Roeder

Business

City’s first Black-owned, independent weed shop opens in Logan Square

The Grasshopper Club is a family business run by Mount Carmel graduate Matthew Brewer, his brother, Chuck, and their mother, Dianne.

By Mitch Dudek

Former Illinois political operative Mike Noonan shows off his organic marijuana farm in Michigan.

Politics

Madigan’s downfall sparks new career for former aide: Selling weed in Michigan

Mike Noonan was the consummate Illinois political insider. He now runs a “budtique” in southwestern Michigan.

By Dan Mihalopoulos

News

Chicago-based pot studies center aims to lead on research and policy

The Cannabis Research Institute, run by the city, state and Discovery Partners Institute, will examine social equity, medicinal and health effects of marijuana.

By Emmanuel Camarillo

Marijuana

3 pot shops with licenses to boost diversity finally open, but nearly 200 await OK

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who visited a new dispensary co-owned by Black family members Wednesday, said he hopes the other social equity license holders can open and diversify the white-dominated industry in Illinois.

By Mitch Dudek and Tom Schuba

Cannabis worker Arianna Olson, who started as a budtender and was promoted to an agent-in-charge at Zen Leaf in Pilsen.

Illinois’ weed workers pushing to unionize, seeking higher pay, better safety

By Zachary Nauth | WBEZ

Palatine-based PTS has teamed with a social equity firm in a bid to open a cannabis dispensary at the site of the old Rainforest Cafe, 605 N. Clark St.

Marijuana

Old Rainforest Cafe site in River North gets OK from Chicago zoning board for weed dispensary

The ruling followed a four-hour hearing in which a nearby resident’s plea to dismiss the proposal was denied.

By Kade Heather

The building located at 605 N. Clark St. is the former home of The Rainforest Cafe. Wednesday, April 6, 2022. | Brian Rich/Sun-Times

Marijuana

David and Goliath battle brewing over clouted company’s bid to set up a weed shop inside old Rainforest Cafe

“The neighborhood has just gone to pot,” said Robert Brown, who has questioned the legality of the proposal and has organized neighbors who feel another dispensary could tank property values and further drive up crime.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

Smoking marijuana might be more harmful to your lungs than tobacco, study suggests

Though the research was limited in scope, it found that marijuana might be linked to an increased risk of emphysema compared with smoking tobacco alone.

By Adrianna Rodriguez | USA Today

Marijuana

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to gain stake in cannabis trade

The music and fashion mogul will acquire stores in Chicago and Villa Park and a growing operation in Aurora in a deal with Cresco Labs and Columbia Care.

By David Roeder

Business owners who received cannabis license under the state’s social equity application process say they face hurdles that will prevent them from ever opening up.

News

Would-be minority pot entrepreneurs say state rules are scaring off investors

Regulations for businesses who got licenses in Illinois ‘social equity’ lottery make it hard to raise cash, panelists at a City Club luncheon said.

By Andy Grimm

President Joe Biden waves as he boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, to travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

Marijuana

President Joe Biden pardons thousands for ‘simple possession’ of marijuana

He’s also calling on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses.

By Zeke Miller | AP, Chris Megerian | AP, and 1 more

Marijuana

Pot twist: Cannabis firm says federal judge can’t order it pay nearly $1M in back rent because its business isn’t legal under federal law

But the landlord insists its lease is both “valid and enforceable.”

By Allison Novelo

Akilah Easter, dean of urban agriculture at Olive-Harvey College, works with hemp plants inside the new campus greenhouse.

Cannabis courses offered by more Illinois colleges as sales of legal marijuana and hemp products grow

By Patrick Filbin | WBEZ

A customer readies payment at a River North dispensary in May of 2020. A new round of pot dispensary licensed was finally issued by state regulators Friday.

Marijuana

Time to exhale? State regulators finally pass around new batch of pot dispensary licenses

The long-awaited licenses are the first new ones to be issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration since marijuana was legalized in 2019 and sales started in 2020.

By Mitchell Armentrout

Richard Perez, left, and Jim Doane, right, stand outside of Zen Leaf Dispensary on Wednesday at 1301 S. Western Ave.

Business

Union rallies at Near West Side dispensary where workers claim they were fired for organizing efforts

“I worked 30 years of my life in management, so I was an ideal employee, I had ambitions to move up with Zen Leaf,” said Jim Doane, an organizing employee. “But I’m an old guy and I am tired of being bullied by the bosses. I showed up early, I received praise and I worked hard for them to just fire me.”

By Manny Ramos

The city closed Smoking Buddha Shop, at 972 W. 18th St. in Pilsen, last month.

Marijuana

CPD cracks down on underground pot parties, seizing a kilo of weed and hundreds of grams of magic mushrooms

Five people were hit with felony charges when city officials raided two pot-centric pop-up parties last week.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

Number of pot shop licenses will more than double as court lifts stay

Lawsuits had delayed issuance of 185 social equity licenses for more than two years.

By Andy Grimm

Marijuana

Planned Rainforest Cafe pot shop relies on permit scored by white businessman with a decades-old weed arrest

After PTS’ initial plan was deemed illegal, the clouted company partnered on the project with a social equity equity firm called Bio-Pharm. During a community meeting Tuesday, it was revealed that Bio-Pharm’s owner is the chief executive of the state’s largest relocation company.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

Clouted pot firm makes another run at Rainforest Cafe site

PTS had sought to move its Consume dispensary from 6428 N. Milwaukee Ave. to 605 N. Clark St. Yet the plan was doomed by state law, so the firm is now partnering with a social equity firm in attempt to open at the former tourist attraction.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

1st Chicago-area marijuana consumption lounge opens on weed’s ‘high’ holiday: ‘This is the best 4/20 celebration’

At one point Wednesday, the smoke detectors at Rise were set off by someone vaping, prompting a brief evacuation and a visit from the fire department.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

From CPD to CBD: Burnt out Chicago cop now selling hemp derivative to help officers de-stress

Jamay Nellum-Fane first turned to the cannabinoid to deal with job-related stress and treat postpartum depression. Now she’s retired and encouraging other cops to try it.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

4/20, the ‘high’ holiday, offers dank deals and pot-friendly parties for Chicagoans

The annual celebration of all things weed, a longstanding countercultural tradition, has now become the biggest day for legal sales.

By Tom Schuba

Marijuana

Buzzkill: Clouted pot company can’t legally move dispensary to site of old Rainforest Cafe

State law prohibits the shop from opening at 605 N. Clark St. because three other dispensaries are already nearby.

By Tom Schuba