Illinois will become a weed legal state on Jan. 1 as adults will for the first time in the Land of Lincoln be able to possess and consume cannabis.
However, consumers will not be allowed to smoke in most public places.
If you own your home or the homeowners explicitly allows it, you’ll be in the clear. It’s not all about smoking though.
Consumable goods that are infused with the psychoactive ingredient THC, popularly known as edibles will also be sold.
Illinois law dictates that no edible can contain more than 100 milligrams of active THC. By comparison, a beginner’s dose of THC in an edible is about 10 mg.
Be sure to exercise caution before using cannabis
Employers can still fire workers for testing positive for marijuana use since it is still federally illegal and the Illinois law allows for “reasonable employment policy”.
There is currently a test for police to use to see if someone is high while driving, but officers say they will tune in to signals.
Some of what they’ll look for is the speed of the driver’s movements, their speech, what their eyes look like and whether their car smells like cannabis.
There are some finer points of the cans and cannots of marijuana in the state.
Adults who are 21 and older can consume cannabis but not in parks, on streets or sidewalks, on grade school grounds or while in a car.
As Illinois State Police put it in a Facebook post, basically smoking cannabis anywhere there are people in a public place is not allowed.
Driving while in possession of cannabis will have some restrictions. The product must be in an odor-proof, child resistance container and be out of the driver’s reach.
You also cannot use marijuana “knowingly in close physical proximity to anyone under 21 years of age”. Exactly what “proximity” means is not defined.
Smoking cannabis will also not be allowed federally subsidized housing, including family housing in Galesburg on Iowa Avenue, South Street, and McKnight Street.
