Marijuana

Cannabis is a growing industry in Chicago and Illinois. Here’s our comprehensive coverage, from the legalization of recreational marijuana to cooking with cannabis.

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.
The sauce, coming to Sunnyside dispensaries Friday, sells for $30 and is for adults 21 and over.
More than 42 million joints, gummies and other recreational weed products were sold legally statewide in 2023. Medical cannabis wasn’t part of the tally.
Two lawsuits sought to block the joint venture between Progressive Treatment Solutions LLC and Bio-Pharm for an outlet at 605 N. Clark St.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County by GRI Holdings alleges the proposed Consume Cannabis dispensary at 605 N. Clark St. violates state law by opening within 1,500 feet of its Green Rose Dispensary.
Weed dispensaries would have to be OK’d by the local alderperson and the zoning committee, but the businesses say they’re restricted enough as it is.
Since marijuana was legalized in the state in 2020, pot shops have brought in more than $669 million in sales and added more than 30,000 jobs. But the state also legalized pot in a way that addresses past harms of the war on drugs and harsh drug sentencing, the governor said.
The substances exploded in popularity after a federal law unintentionally allowed businesses to sell the weedlike substances without regulations.
A City Hall zoning hearing is set Tuesday for the store, called Baked. The proposed shop would replace a restaurant in a building that houses the legal aid center in East Garfield Park.
Many people believe marijuana smoke is harmless, or at least less harmful than tobacco smoke. But research is raising concerns about even second-hand exposure to cannabis smoke.
Moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III would facilitate medical research and benefit pot suppliers, but the federal prohibition on pot use would remain.
Millions of older adults have started using pot, but questions remain about its health effects on seniors.
Isaac Thurston, 20 is accused of stabbing his father, Perron Thurston, 50, at their home after an argument.
It’s been six months since Matthew Brewer celebrated the opening of Grasshopper Club’s first shop in Logan Square. Opening its second shop at 58 E. Roosevelt Road was no easier, he said.
Most of the weed sales were to state residents, which totaled $104.2 million.
Sales of weed in Illinois are concentrated among a few retailers, according to a Headset study. And the state tacks on taxes.
Cresco Labs and Columbia Care announced Monday the termination of a merger that was originally struck in 2022.
A lawsuit filed this week in Cook County court claims a Cresco chemist resigned in May and quickly joined GTI, in violation of a one-year non-compete agreement.
A Hyde Park entrepreneur in partnership with a pair of former NBA stars were awarded licenses for two pot shops: one opening this week in suburban Broadview and another later this year in Lincoln Park.
Union representatives said the strike is over unfair labor practices. They have been in negotiations with the company on a new contract since June.
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.