If you have been arrested for smoking pot or weed possession in Illinois, do not worry for you can breathe a sigh of relief.
JB Pritzker, Illinois Governor just signed HB 1438 this week, which makes cannabis legal inside the state for individuals who are 21-years-old and above, along with sweeping criminal justice reforms designed to help those whose lives have been upended by the state’s drug laws.
In addition to legalizing weed, the 610-page bill offers relief to over 770,000 residents of the state with marijuana-related offenses and charges on their criminal records, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
A new law legalizes weed and helps those caught with it in the past
The new Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act of the state, which will take effect in 2020, allows people to receive clemency automatically for convictions up to 30 grams of cannabis. Those who are convicted with larger amounts, from 30-500 grams can entreaty the court to have the charge lifted.
The bill gives a definition to removal, “to destroy the records physically or to return them to the petitioner and to destroy the petitioner’s name from any index, official public record, or even both of them.” But the physical destruction of circuit court files is not required necessarily.
A “social equity program” is also included in the bill which makes it much easier for those with weed convictions to get business licenses. The program also allocates $12 million for startup businesses related to cannabis, as well as funding for job training programs in the state’s cannabis industry, the Marijuana Policy Project says.
The state’s Department of Agriculture and its community college board are creating pilot programs to get people ready to work in the newly legal industry, and the state will require them to focus on enrolling the low-income students into those programs.
Illinois is the latest state to liberalize its weed laws
Governor Pritzker is currently fulfilling a promise he made on his campaign trail, and is making Illinois the 11th US state to legalize marijuana officially. So far 18 states have decriminalized marijuana, the MPP says, and in all 34 states allow patients with health complaints to use medical marijuana.
And Illinois is the latest state to offer clemency for cannabis convictions. Last month Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law that gave marijuana offenders the ability to have their sentences vacated in the state.
Smoking Pot – The Dangers of Your Own Smoking
Smoking pot is perhaps one of the most popular past-time activities of people who dabble in reefer-munching. However, smoking pot is a growing problem, both socially negative among its users, and laws against cannabis possession are being strengthened worldwide. This article intends to show why smoking pot can be an extremely destructive activity, and why anyone who chooses to smoke pot should consider quitting for the sake of their own health as well as the general wellbeing of other people around them. Ultimately, I believe that the social ramifications of smoking pot are far more serious than the temporary relief provided by the psychoactive effects of the drug; if you smoke pot, you’re going to mess around with the mind, body, and spirit, not to mention those around you.
The short term effects of marijuana use are fairly easy to foresee. When you first begin smoking pot, you will probably experience a sense of calm euphoria, energy, and creativity, particularly if using a product that has been infused with powerful herbal substances such as hops or ginger root. In short, you’ll feel a bit more “high” than usual; eventually, you’ll probably feel extremely alert, with a very clear head, a flushed face, and enhanced reflexes, but you’ll also notice that you may be less tolerant to colds and to the weather.
The long-term effects of smoking pot, however, are much less predictable, although there are some common aspects you should be aware of if you plan to give up smoking pot. Among these include the fact that continued use often leads to serious, even life-threatening problems including increased risks of diabetes, heart disease, car accidents, and asthma. Some of these problems develop slowly over time; others develop suddenly, especially if you have a family history. One of the biggest risks, according to many experts, is that long-term use can lead to the premature death of your lungs. This has been substantiated by recent studies.
If you’re worried about the long-term effects of smoking pot, then it’s probably high time you started thinking seriously about quitting. One of the easiest ways to avoid the health risks associated with vaporizing is to go straight to the medical route, by signing up for a dose of medication prescribed by your doctor. These medications are available over the counter in many locations, and they work wonders for many people who suffer from chronic diseases and serious health issues that affect their breathing. Unfortunately, many patients are still wary of utilizing medical marijuana because they are afraid of the side effects. Despite what most medical authorities tell us, using marijuana does not cause cancer or anything like that, and consuming the drug is not addictive in any way.
Many people who try smoking pot on their own eventually fall prey to the trap set up by inexperienced users who know just enough to get away with a joint or two, but not enough to know how potent their product is. This means that inexperienced users do not know the difference between high potency and low potency, and it takes them too long to adjust to their new routine. High potency marijuana is also much stronger than low potency, which can lead to uncomfortable side effects from becoming dependent on it. When you realize the dangers involved with long-term marijuana use, you’ll probably never even consider doing it again. So the real question becomes not what are the risks of marijuana use, but what are the risks of continued marijuana use.
Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a “career” or even a “boutique”, it doesn’t matter; your health is simply too important to risk. There are many reasons to legalize marijuana, ranging from the obvious to the less obvious, but the bottom line is that smoking pot can be dangerous, especially when you don’t know what you’re smoking. Smoking cannabis just might be the last thing you need to accomplish while you’re being distracted by other things.
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Where these pants when smoking pot.
