- John H. White/Sun-Times Media
- Cook County commissioner John Fritchey wants Illinois officials to start creating a regulatory framework for legalizing marijuana.
Legalize it.
“It is well past time to recognize that the so-called ‘war on drugs’ has been a misguided failure with respect to marijuana laws and policies,” Cook County commissioner John Fritchey, who’s leading the effort, said in a written statement. “The Illinois Legislature should follow the successful lead of other states and start taking meaningful steps toward a workable framework to allow the responsible sale and use of cannabis.”
In an interview with the New Yorker published in January, President Obama said he believed marijuana was less harmful than alcohol and indicated his support for legalization in Colorado and Washington as test cases. “It’s important for it to go forward because it’s important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished,” he said.
The ACLU study found that Illinois was spending more than $200 million annually on low-level pot busts.
Officials believe the figure is much higher in the Chicago area.
