1-833-663-7284 (Customer Support Available 24/7)
by Gary Miller
In a push to expand the city’s cannabis industry, the Chicago City Council Zoning Committee has approved a plan put forth by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to loosen cannabis zoning requirements and increase the number of dispensaries downtown. The move comes as Lightfoot strives to make Chicago more attractive to cannabis businesses.
The city’s previous cannabis zones, which were eliminated by the vote, cornered dispensaries into operating only in certain parts of the metropolis. Additionally, the zoning restrictions limited the number of dispensaries allowed in each zone following the state’s legalization of recreational cannabis on Jan. 1, 2020. According to WTTW, the zones were created primarily due to concerns that dispensaries would corrupt the city’s central business district in the eyes of families and tourists “looking for G-rated fun.”
As over a hundred dispensaries began to open up around the state following legalization, only 18 cannabis shops established themselves in Chicago, leading to more than $13 million in lost revenue. While the recent 14-4 vote by the city council will not open up all of downtown Chicago to cannabis businesses, it will reduce the exclusion zone greatly by moving the east and west boundaries to Michigan and State streets respectively. The full city council is expected to take up the proposal on Sept. 14.
Many stakeholders are hoping to see the loosened Chicago cannabis restrictions benefit minority cannabis entrepreneurs, some of whom are vying for a cannabis license through the state’s extra cannabis lottery after clerical errors tainted the July lottery. The state is still waiting to distribute 180 licenses to lottery winners due to an ongoing lawsuit surrounding the application process.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump signed the Farm Bill into law. The Farm Bill is the federal government’s primary agricultural and food policy instrument. Every five years, Congress deals with renewing and revising the comprehensive bill. Before 2018, cannabis was not part of the conversation around farm subsidies or crop insurance. With the passing…
Nobody wants to spend time with paranoid Pete, but if you don’t choose your cannabis strains wisely, you could get flung into a portal of paranoia yourself. Funnily enough, a recent Marist poll found that almost a third of cannabis users in the U.S. use marijuana to ease anxiety or stress. A separate Marist poll…
Alternative medicine is becoming more widely acknowledged and practiced than ever before, opening the door for therapies like psychedelics to enter the world of mainstream healthcare. One psychedelic that’s been getting a whole lot of attention lately is psilocybin, an active ingredient in mushroom species that are often called “magic mushrooms.” Psilocybin is a naturally…
Consuming alcohol heavily in young adulthood is associated with an increased likelihood of developing alcohol use disorder (AUD), the most widespread substance-related disorder worldwide. Research has already shed light on the effects of individual differences like alcohol sensitivity and cardiovascular responses in predicting binge drinking behaviors and progression to AUD. However, there remains a gap…
Despite being far from new, psychedelic therapy is an avenue of medicine that is gaining more traction these days. Many people believe that psychedelics such as MDMA and psilocybin could potentially help improve the mental health of people, especially veterans. Sadly, many of our veterans battle mental health issues and receive very little help from…
For those who suffer from muscle pain, chronic pain, or joint pain, cannabis topicals can be a game-changer. But how exactly do…
We’ve all been there. You take too many hits from a joint or too much of a potent edible, possibly not knowing…
Oklahomans’ cannabis vote ended on a sour note, a Canadian dispensary is facing backlash over cocaine sales, and Arizona law students are…
