The windy city hasn't ever flip-flopped much one on issue: cannabis.
On Tuesday, Chicago voted in favor of cannabis for recreational use. The majority of voters in Cook County (which includes Chicago) supported “the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of marijuana and marijuana products for recreational use by adults 21 and older” in a nonbinding referendum, according to Chron.
Although the referendum is only an advisory to lawmakers, public support helps pro-legalization lawmakers create and push for sensible drug legislation. Currently, medical cannabis is already legal in the state.
Leafly reports 63.3 percent of ballots were cast in favor, while 36.7 of ballots voted against the measure. Meanwhile, cannabis advocates understand taxation for recreational cannabis can help boost government revenue while opponents stay concerned about social cost and conflict with federal law, which still lists marijuana as a schedule I drug despite its life-saving characteristics.
Despite the revival of the War on Drugs by Trump's call to persecute traffickers with the death penalty, 2018 has been a good year for weed in the United States. Connecticut is reconsidering its stance on recreational cannabis, taking lead from neighboring Vermont and Massachusetts. In January alone, the industry brought in $1.2 billion.
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