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posted on 7/28/19

Imagine going out to dinner in Chicago on a Friday night in April 2020 after a long day of work. You decide to eat at a new Asian fusion restaurant with your significant other. After dinner, you walk along the river and choose to enjoy smoking some marijuana. Is that legal? As of January 1, recreational smoking marijuana will be legal, but you will not be able to smoke it everywhere.

Marijuana enthusiasts rejoiced when the state of Illinois legalized the recreational use of marijuana at the end of May 2019. The legislature has already decided the most significant issue regarding recreational marijuana use. On January 1, 2020, Illinois residents will be able to possess recreational quantities of marijuana legally.

While this legislation gets at the significant issues, many smaller problems involving recreational marijuana legalization still need to be solved. Local Illinois governments are struggling to figure out the logistics of legalized marijuana. For example, local governments must decide where people will be able to smoke recreational marijuana before the January 1 deadline.

Where can I Smoke Marijuana in Illinois When it Becomes Legal?

Per the statute, it will be illegal to use marijuana in:

  • Any public place, such as streets or parks
  • Any motor vehicle
  • School grounds (with the exception of medical users)
  • Proximity to someone under the age of 21
  • Proximity to an on-duty school bus driver, police officer, firefighter or corrections officer<

Ultimately, local governments, like cities and towns, must decide where residents can legally smoke recreational marijuana. The statewide law that legalized marijuana explicitly states that local governments have the power to choose to offer business permits. These permits would allow customers to smoke marijuana inside specific business locations.

Some opponents argue that allowing marijuana use in public businesses is akin to allowing cigarette smoking inside buildings, something that Illinois has banned statewide. Marijuana proponents say that marijuana users are not limited to just smoking. Consumers can also eat marijuana products or use topical marijuana that absorbs into the skin. Each local government needs to decide what types of consumption they will allow and where they will allow them.

Illinois Police Will Arrest Innocent Citizens When Recreational Marijuana is Legal

Sadly, legalized marijuana use will not change the reality that Illinois police officers will continue to arrest innocent people. Legally, police officers can only arrest an Illinois citizen when they have probable cause to do so. Determining probable cause that a person is Driving While Under the Influence of Cannabis (DUIC) is more challenging than with alcohol.

Police departments can utilize over 100 years of research regarding driving and alcohol impairment. There is no such research in terms of determining when a person is driving under the influence of marijuana. Current roadside marijuana consumption tests are not reliable for giving police officer’s probable cause to arrest a driver.

If You are Facing an Illinois Drug Charge, We can Help

The skilled criminal defense attorneys at Glasgow & Olsson vigorously represent our clients who face marijuana-related criminal charges. If you are facing marijuana-related driving under the influence charge in Cook, Lake, Kane, McHenry, or DuPage county, reach out right away. To contact us, please fill out our online form for an initial consultation.

(image courtesy of Robert Bye)