Marijuana

A pedestrian crosses East Ontario Street at North Fairbanks Court in Chicago in 2018. The building at left contains 620 N. Fairbanks Ct., where cannabis store Guaranteed Dispensary opened late in 2025. (Jośe M. Osorio/baiduhai)

Judge upholds permit for controversial cannabis shop in Streeterville

By Robert McCoppin

September 10, 2026 at 4:20 p.m.

A judge upheld Chicago's permit for a controversial cannabis store in Streeterville, despite new evidence...

A Chicago resident shows a marijuana plant growing outdoors at her home garden on Aug. 19, 2026. The resident, who has a medical cannabis card, is currently growing four plants in her backyard to cultivate for personal use. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

Illinois regulators propose allowing licensed cannabis producers to grow outdoors

By Robert McCoppin

August 20, 2026 at 6:10 p.m.

In a major reversal, Illinois regulators have proposed letting cannabis companies grow cannabis outdoors.

Gummy worms, containing 10 milligrams of cannabidiol, are displayed at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition trade show, on May 30, 2019, in New York. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Edible cannabis consumption increases among little kids, Illinois Poison Center reports

By Robert McCoppin

June 21, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

A crying 6-year-old was brought to an emergency department after being found sluggish and cold...

John Shinholser, founder of the McShin Foundation which aids people in addiction recovery, addresses the Tinley Park Village Board June 18, 2024. (Samantha Moilanen/Daily Southtown)

Tinley Park approves kratom ban despite community and industry concerns

By Samantha Moilanen

June 19, 2024 at 2:20 p.m.

Tinley Park passed an ordinance Tuesday to prohibit the sale, distribution and use of kratom,...

Evergreen Park Mayor Kelly Burke presides at the Village Board meeting June 3, 2024. Discussion about a proposal to open a marijuana store on Kedzie Avenue will continue at a public hearing June 17. (Kimberly Fornek/for Daily Southtown)

Evergreen Park puts off vote on marijuana dispensary, will hold second public hearing

By Kimberly Fornek

June 4, 2024 at 10:44 a.m.

Evergreen Park Mayor Kelly Burke said some people who spoke at the April 15 hearing...

Bud and Rita's, the second dispensary to operate in Niles, is slated to open in mid-June in the former location of Graziano's Restaurant. (Richard Requena/Pioneer Press)

Cannabis dispensary with 1950s diner theme to open in Niles

By Richard Requena

June 3, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.

Bud and Rita’s, the second cannabis dispensary to operate in Niles, is set to open...

People walk through the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on April 11, 2024. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Illinois lawmakers fail again to pass hemp regulations and medical cannabis expansion

By Robert McCoppin

May 29, 2024 at 6:33 p.m.

Illinois lawmakers again failed to take action to keep dangerous hemp products out of the...

Jake Buishas tests THC levels from a Juniper Terps seltzer production line on May 22, 2024, at Marz Community Brewing Co. in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/baiduhai)

Hemp beverage brewers fear Illinois hemp ban will end fledgling industry

By Robert McCoppin

May 23, 2024 at 6:33 p.m.

Just after popping the lid off a new market, hemp beverage makers fear that a...

FILE – A man smokes marijuana in lower Manhattan outside the first legal dispensary for recreational marijuana in New York on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. Daily and near-daily marijuana use is now more common than similar levels of high-frequency drinking in the U.S., according to an analysis of survey data over four decades, according to research published Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in the journal Addiction. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

There are now more daily marijuana users in the US than daily alcohol users

By Carla K. Johnson

May 22, 2024 at 4:01 p.m.

For the first time, the number of Americans who use marijuana just about every day...

Tiffany Chappell Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, speaks on April 11, 2024, at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield as Cannabiz IL and state legislators present bipartisan legislation regulating hemp consumer products and prohibiting synthetic THC intoxicants such as Delta-8. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Illinois hemp businesses owners call for regulation and taxation, not prohibition

By Robert McCoppin

May 7, 2024 at 5:56 p.m.

The last thing most business owners want is to be taxed and regulated, but hemp...

Delton Huffman, of Michigan City, Indiana, takes part in the two-day Original Cannabis Crown event at the Hartford Motor Speedway in Hartford, Michigan on August 27, 2022. Indiana has become a marijuana island as it's surrounded by states who have legalized it medically and recreationally. Pro-legalization advocates are hopeful that a change in rescheduling the drug at the federal level will loosen restrictions locally. (Andy Lavalley for the Post-Tribune)

With possible marijuana reclassification, Indiana legislature unlikely to shift stance on legalization

By Alexandra Kukulka

May 4, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.

As the federal government signals a shift in marijuana classification, area Indiana legislators have little...

FILE – Young marijuana plants have state mandated identification tags in the indoor growing facility of Mockingbird Cannabis in Raymond, Miss., Friday, Jan. 20, 2023. A federal proposal to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug has raised the hopes of some pot backers that more states will embrace cannabis. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

As the US moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, could more states legalize it?

By David A. Lieb

May 4, 2024 at 8:49 a.m.

The proposed federal change could add fresh arguments for supporters of ballot measures seeking to...