Cannabis Laws in Illinois for Medical Purposes

In the cannabis industry, the debate is growing over the use of medical marijuana and its legitimacy. There are several law enforcement officials and politicians that have considered marijuana use as being illegal and because of that, they would love to control every aspect of it.

Many of them think that selling marijuana for purpose of medical help to chronic cannabis patients is just a disguise. You would think that if marijuana has been legalized, this would not be the case, but it is. In Illinois, the cannabis laws were implemented for medical purposes, but yet, there is speculation as is in other states.

The Other Side of Illinois Cannabis Laws

On the other hand, there are several drug legalization and health advocate groups that have taken on the non-advocates such as politicians and law enforcement officials to voice their agreement of the cannabis laws passed to legalize weed.

Many in the health community have already proven the positive side of marijuana in aiding sick people to get well. Most of them have seen how medical marijuana can help someone suffering from chronic pain and how medical cannabis has proven to be the treatment that worked.

Many medical cannabis patients have tried a lot of other prescribed medication that have not worked, even though, taken for years. Many cannabis patients have been treated with marijuana for AIDS/HIV, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer and glaucoma, just to name a few. Cannabis patients are hoping that non-advocates and advocates both get on board to help in making medical marijuana legally available in all states across the United States.

Marijuana Possession in Illinois

If you live in the state of Illinois and you are a medical cannabis patient, you should know the cannabis laws yourself. However, for your information, you will not face jail time, if you are caught by law enforcement with a small quantity of marijuana.

The state of Illinois is the 21^st of all other states that have decriminalized the possession of marijuana. Instead of jail time, law enforcement officials are giving people written citations such as traffic ticket and a small fine is usually assessed.

Residents of Illinois that are caught in a marijuana possession incident will only have to pay that fine and not have the citation be a hindrance in their lives. In order words, they don’t have to deal with the court process as is the case with other infractions.

The Cannabis Laws Signed in Illinois

In July 2016, Governor Bruce Rauner signed a legislation that removed criminal penalties for Illinois residents who are found possessing 10 grams of marijuana or less. The new legislation has been welcomed by many since an arrest cannot be made by law enforcement.

The change has improved and replaced the previous penalties of $125 in fines. The medical cannabis laws also included an improvement in cannabis programs.

Qualifying Health Conditions for Illinois Cannabis Laws

The SB10 legislation was signed to extend the program to July 2020. In addition, the cannabis laws include post traumatic stress disorder as one of the qualifying health conditions to the cannabis program.

This allows the doctor’s role to be streamlined during the patient qualification process. The state of Illinois is also considering the addition of other conditions to the list of qualifying conditions. The matter is still in court.

Before The New Illinois Cannabis Laws

Prior to the new cannabis laws signed into action, if Illinois residents were caught by law enforcement with ten grams of marijuana, it was a Class B misdemeanor and the alleged culprit would be charged $1500 in fines and up to half a year in jail.

Cannabis users are pleased with the changes to their cannabis laws. The fine charged for the same ten grams of marijuana is between a hundred dollars and two hundred dollars with no jail time. Passing of the SB10 legislation has been welcome news to cannabis enthusiasts, but especially medical cannabis patients. Check out Cannabis Training University's cannabis certification program to learn more.