Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation making Illinois the 11th state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana and the second to enact It through the Legislature rather than the ballot box. (June 25) AP, AP


Recreational marijuana will soon be legal across the Mississippi River in Illinois.

On June 25, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill legalizing the possession and use of marijuana. That means adults ages 21 and older — including anybody from Missouri crossing into Illinois from St. Louis and Cape Girardeau — will be able to purchase marijuana from licensed sellers and use it while in the state starting Jan. 1, 2020.

Illinois joins 10 other states that have legalized adult-use cannabis: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Nevada, Vermont and Washington. Illinois is also the first state to add adult-use through a lawmaker vote instead of a ballot initiative, according to the pro-cannabis advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project. A total of 33 states and the District of Columbia now have a medical or recreational marijuana law.

Despite Missouri voters' adoption of Amendment 2 in Nov. 2018, recreational cannabis use remains illegal in the Show-Me State. Amendment 2 only allows qualifying patients with an approved ID card to consume marijuana, and only in private.

Here's what to know about the new Illinois law and what it might mean for you:

Can Missouri residents buy marijuana in Illinois?

Beginning next year, yes. Non-Illinois residents can purchase and possess 15 grams of cannabis — about half an ounce. That's half the amount Illinois residents are allowed to possess. Nonresidents can also buy limited amounts of products like marijuana concentrate.

Just don't bring any of it back across state lines.

The possession and sale of marijuana are still illegal at the federal level. Missourians with qualifying patient or caregiver cards may not sell marijuana they've purchased or grown themselves, according to both Missouri and federal law.

Will there be marijuana dispensaries in Illinois?

There already are at least 55 of them, and they began selling medical marijuana two years after Illinois adopted a medical system in 2013.

Today, directories on sites like Leafly and Google Maps show dispensaries operating in the St. Louis "metro east" section of Illinois, in towns like Sauget and Collinsville.

Same goes for southern Illinois. Towns like Marion, Anna, Harrisburg and Murphysboro — all in road-trip range from Missouri communities like Ste. Genevieve and Cape Girardeau — already have dispensaries.

Licensed dispensaries will be the only place where you can legally buy recreational marijuana if the Illinois law goes into effect. Those dispensaries can apply to sell adult-use marijuana, and the new law also allows them to open a second location for that purpose.

According to The Chicago Tribune, some dispensaries are already planning expansions, staffing increases and new technology to handle adult-use customers and an expected increase in marijuana sales.

Where could you legally use recreational weed in Illinois?

Under the new law, people will be able to smoke or consume edibles in their homes.

Illinois cities can also opt to allow cannabis cafés and on-site consumption in certain other marijuana-related businesses, according to Marijuana Policy Project.

However, marijuana use will still be prohibited in these places:

  • Any public place, including streets or parks
  • In motor vehicles
  • Near someone younger than 21
  • On school grounds, except for medical marijuana users

Its use also could be prohibited on private properties, at the owners' discretion.

Does the Illinois law have 'social provisions'?

Yes. It expunges the criminal records of people with minor marijuana possession convictions. That could affect 800,000 people, a move demanded by minority lawmakers and interest groups in the Democratic-controlled state, according to the Associated Press.

Illinois will also create incentives for "social equity applicants" who want a license for a marijuana-related business, including extra points on their applications, financing for startup costs and resources for "communities that were hardest hit from the war on cannabis," in the words of Marijuana Policy Project.  

Does Illinois have home grow?

Only for medical cannabis patients, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, which also tried (and failed) to get Illinois lawmakers to legalize cannabis delivery services. 

What's the marijuana situation in Missouri?

Missouri voters approved medical marijuana Amendment 2 in November 2018. It took effect a month later, with a tight timeline ordering the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to implement the law.

Beginning June 28, Missouri patients suffering from a list of qualifying conditions, and their caregivers, were allowed to begin applying for a medical marijuana ID card allowing patient consumption. Such an application must include a physician certification stating that the patient suffers from a health problem outlined in Amendment 2.

Repeating a pattern that's common with large health systems in medical marijuana states, Mercy and CoxHealth recently announced that their physicians would not write certifications, so many Springfield-area patients are turning to independent doctors and so-called "cannabis clinics" for appointments to get the needed paperwork.

Patients and caregivers may also apply to the state for limited home-grow privileges.

Businesses that want licenses to operate dispensaries, cultivation, manufacturing or testing facilities may begin filing their applications in about a month. Missouri's health department must award the licenses by the end of the year. Dispensaries are likely to begin operating sometime in the spring of 2020.

As of June 25, 543 pre-filed application forms and fees totaling almost $3.9 million had been sent to DHSS by license-seekers.

What does the federal government say about marijuana?

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, prohibited alongside drugs like heroin. Little scientific or medical research on marijuana takes place inside the United States as a result. Since 2014, federal prosecutors have generally ignored marijuana sales in the states that have legalized its use.

Cannabis lobbyists say marijuana could become a hot topic in the run-up to the presidential election of 2020. In April, Politico reported that Republican and Democratic U.S. senators reintroduced a bill to allow states to decide for themselves whether to legalize marijuana without federal interference.

One sponsor, Colorado Republican Cory Gardner, said President Donald Trump told him privately that Trump would sign the so-called STATES Act if passed.

Reporters Gage Miskimen and Dwight Adams with the Des Moines Register; Kellie Hwang and Andrew Clark with IndyStar; and Trevor Hughes with USA TODAY contributed to this report.

More Missouri marijuana news:

Outland owners want to turn part of downtown bar into marijuana dispensary

DHSS reveals a bit more about where dispensaries and other marijuana companies will locate

Here are Springfield doctors willing to do marijuana certifications

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