The Cole Memo

In this episode, the Alliance for Cannabis Equity in Illinois joins me to talk about how we can enact change at a legislative level! During the episode, we talk about an opportunity for you to get involved directly in the legislative process later this month!

• Watch the episode on Patreon here
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Links mentioned during show

• https://chicagonorml.app.neoncrm.com/event.jsp?event=1996&
• bit.ly/ceicpolicy
• https://bit.ly/Springfield24
• https://chicagonorml.app.neoncrm.com/forms/12
• One pager – https://thecolememo.com/2024/01/22/the-alliance-for-cannabis-equity-unveils-proposals-for-2024-legislative-priorities-in-the-illinois-cannabis-industry/#one-pager
• Cae Jones – https://thecolememo.com/2024/03/21/e72/
• Episode 47 – Illinois Supreme Court Debates Searches Based Solely on Cannabis Smell – https://thecolememo.com/2024/01/17/e47/
• Episode 49 – Defense Attorneys Discuss Cannabis Odor & Illinois Supreme Court Case – https://thecolememo.com/2024/01/21/e49/
• ColeMemo.com/History

The auto-generated transcript is available below.

thank you so much everybody for tuning in this is the Cole memo I’m your host Cole Preston every episode is released in audio video and transcript format to find the transcript audio or video version of any episode please refer to the description of the episode that you’re listening to now within that description you can find a link that will take you to our website which will display the transcript for this episode and the platforms where you can find this episode in audio or video formats if you’re unable to locate the episode description on whichever platform you’re listening from simply take note of the episode number and visit the memo.com from there you can use the search functionality in our top right hand corner to find the corresponding episode and then you’ll be able to access the audio video and transcript version of the episode you might also find any links that we referenc during the episode so that you might be able to do your own research or you know get directly involved in cannabis advocacy which is what we will be discussing today so if you’re not listening to this episode of the co memo on patreon you’re list listening to this episode later than our patrons to become a patron go to thec memo.com patreon it’s a great way to support our show but one of the best ways to support our show is free subscribe to or follow our show leave us a positive review from wherever you’re listening to us from favorite this episode give it a thumbs up share it with your grandma today is April 2nd 2024 and today I am joined by many faces that you will likely recognize because they are champions of cannabis policy folks there’s a very important day coming up this is a very important time of year Peter can I pass it off to you really quick so that folks know what’s coming up and how to get directly involved sure sounds good um hello everybody uh thank you Cole for for having us today uh my name is Peter Kos I’m the deputy director of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition where um a nonprofit and advocacy organization based in Chicago started in 2019 working to hold the state accountable for you know the promises they made around equity in the Cannabis industry and and you know promising to repair the harm from the war on drug so we will be doing an advocacy day in Springfield on Thursday April 18th uh we have a ton of amazing Partners who every you’re going to hear from today um you’ll see it on social media but really encouraging folks um if you have you know you care about cannabis you care about um holding our our government accountable um you care about equity and and inclusion in in in business um then we definitely want to make sure that everybody can join us again on Thursday April 18th absolutely and folks if it makes it easier for you there’s going to be a link in the podcast description that will allow you to sign up for this uh there’s going to be a virtual workshop and a physical Workshop um and it is um highly encouraged in fact required to attend that uh before you come to Lobby day just so that we can show you the ropes and make sure that you’re not completely lost when you get to Springfield um so I just want to reiterate check out that link get involved I just want to say that cannabis is a gateway drug it’s a gateway drug to getting involved in politics and what better way to learn the ropes in politics than by doing it with this awesome subject that we all know and love cannabis so on that note I want to give everybody the opportunity to introduce themselves I just wanted to get that date out there so that we could uh activate our uh our people right um so who would like to go first a lot of you are I think basically all of you are returning um so feel free whoever wants to remind us who we are all right I’ll go next is Douglas Kelly I’m the director of cannabis eeky Illinois Coalition and also a part of the Alliance Group that’s who we are Ace that’s what you’ll be seeing on our information is the Ace Alliance um and we’re here like Peter said um we’re going down the springfi on April 18th and we want as many of you to join us don’t meet us there beat us there U for an EXC a day advocacy work and really trying to get our lawmakers on board um to push the Cannabis agenda forward and I will pass it to Edie hey you surprised me hey everybody Cole so good to see you again thanks for having us um I’m Edie Moore I’m the legislative director of Chicago normal um also a member of ace. and I’d like to take a a second to tell you a little bit about Ace um Ace is stands for the um Alliance of what is it Alliance of Canabis equity and um we came together because we realized that there were a lot of organizations who were doing the same work that we’ve always been doing Chicago normal the Coalition seen eat others were all just kind of doing the same work on different paths and we recognized last year that we would be stronger if those paths converged into one thing and also included the business owners um who who we out here trying to um who to speak for and the patients and so that’s really kind of what why Ace came to be and that’s why we’re so intentional this year in particular about going down to Springfield as Ace thank you well I am Ari Richards executive director of Chicago normal and just to touch on our lobby day workshop briefly um it is important that take this opportunity to take our Workshop because going to Springfield can be a little bit intimidating um and this Workshop will definitely give you the opportunity to hear from folks who’ve been there and who’ve done done the work down there and we have some exercises also that will help people get used to just being able to talk to their legislators and understanding that you have the power to go into these offices and talk to your people you vote for them and you have every right to go in there and talk to them so I’m looking forward to this Workshop Saturday in person yay and again virtually just before you go down to Springfield absolutely that’s in pilson for folks that want to make it right and soul and wellness awesome awesome next up does who wants to jump in Maurice yeah I can jump in introduce myself um Maurice organizing director for equity and transformation founded and led by formally incarcerated um system impacted people in the informal economy and I would just stress the importance of our people um in our communities west and south side of Chicago all across the city joining this effort um across the state um as was said before me we do have the power we have to be able to use it um we shouldn’t be intimidated by going into the Springfield but it is I’ve been there myself it is a little intimidating if you don’t know but as we said before we put these people in office our taxes pay their salary we have the right to go talk to them so just stressing the importance of us getting from behind the screens getting off the phones and actually going there there in person cuz that face to face they’re seeing this showing of people they’re showing showing up and they care and we’re consistent um to the demands we have will really um bring out that power that we all do have it’s just a matter of us getting together and using it so big shout out to um the Coalition for getting this together and us um bringing out people to use our power well said Maurice Kiana have you gone yet I don’t think you’ve done yet I haven’t I haven’t I was going to jump in right after the Chicago normal ones I Tiana Hughes I am a founding board member of Chicago normal and also a member of the legislative committee um I don’t want to be the dead horse but I will reiterate what everyone has said here just the importance of participating in something like this and I also want to say just the the the level of um it’s a safe space right so if you don’t necessarily know what to say or if you do feel intimidated you’re not alone we’ve all kind of been in that situation uh we all had our first time before we had ever come so I just want to reiterate that and make sure that we get a lot of people to come out and join us if can because our strength is really in our numbers we really want to have the numbers to show that thank you for having us Cole yeah and back to you know a point that Maurice brought up and I guess we’ve all brought up uh because Kiana just brought it up again you know these these people are are working for us but in order for them to know what they need to do for us we have to show up and and communicate you can’t just assume that they’re G to no you know premonition um so that’s why it’s important that we show up in numbers right you know hold them accountable so absolutely and it’s it’s important not just to be in numbers but to be on the same page yeah so that’s part of what we’re going to be teaching at the workshop this year um typically I mean this is the fifth time I think Ari that we’ve done this Workshop fifth year here in a row um but typically we are um discussing cannabis policy but different you know different topics what do you care about what do you care about this time we’re talking about one thing one page well it’s more than one thing but one page stay on the same page and it’s really important that we do that this year um so that our legislators don’t have any excuses to get lost in the sauce see what I did there um um about what we care about and what we want to happen this year if I could jump in Edie and just correct me if I’m wrong what you’re saying is like sometimes you know cannabis there’s all these different people they have all these different ideas and if they’re all coming to all of our Representatives with all these different ideas they’re like look what do you want me to do tell me I need I need one voice so that’s exactly right so this year that’s why we’ve we we’ve made sure that we’re going down under the ace umbrella that’s why we’ve made sure that we are engaging not just business owners and Advocates but also patients because we’re we’re talking about um things that concern them as well we are headed with laser focused down the Springfield yeah and I just have to say you mentioned one pager I shared that one pager as soon as I could folks and I I encourage you to to review it ahead of uh the workshop because frankly it’s an easy read it’s one page right it’s pretty easy but it’s also likely has an issue that you care about and that’s why I personally uh really like the one pager I’m displaying it right now it is one page uh well Ju Just I think this preview is showing it a little bit over one page if you print it out it’s one page folks don’t don’t get to Twisted um but the priorities are are very straightforward and agreeable I must say I don’t know do we want to go through these does anybody want to uh speak or give us a quick rundown for maybe folks that missed this Peter I’m happy to happy to share some of the items sweet um and so yeah there’s a like you know I think it’s been said a couple times Ed just said it but you know there’s a lot of different things that that we’re working on something that I think every you know somebody you will find something that you like hopefully in this list and if you are like hey you totally ignored my my like my asks then let’s have that conversation um because we recognize you know we’re we’re not going to be able to to identify or flag every single issue that needs to be worked on we have a long list of things that we want you know that we’re working on but I’m sure there’s stuff we’re missing and so always encouraging people before we get into this list like if you have things bring them to us let’s talk about it um because you we can’t talk about it if we don’t know what you’re working on so um you know at the top of the you know at the top of the list you know badging making sure that you know we have One Singular process for folks if you want to get a job in this industry you want to become a a lensee in this industry um we need that process to be clarified because we still have people getting um denied opportunities because of backgrounds uh which again is is totally against the whole point of of what you know our lawmakers or against what our lawmakers said they would do um and so we definitely need to to clean that up um the second thing on here I think this is this is probably the most uh one of the most important things is you know um around expanding access for medical patients um so right now if you’re medical patient you know you can only receive your tax discount at the original 55 dispensaries in the state um those stores are are few and far between they are not equitably distributed um especially in Chicago land they are are very intentionally placed in in very specific neighborhoods um and and it’s ultimately we know there is not equal access to to that discount um everywhere and so one of the things we’re pushing is to expand that tax discount so that every single store in the state can serve medical patient and and provide that discount um that is not a a super difficult change to make it’s really just about you know making a technical change so that stores you know on their Point of Sales system can actually just plug in the medical discount um so we are really excited to see what that can do uh because again you know really hammering home that medical patients can you know will be able to go to the store that’s closest to their house um but also all of the social Equity dispensaries that have opened up and will open up will immediately have um a customer base of patients who um are consistent and and you know in their neighborhood and so we definitely want to stress like the importance of that this is not just about patients it’s not just about businesses this is about again trying to address the entire ecosystem that the Cannabis industry is um and this is something that we think is really exciting so can I can I interrupt you real quick Peter please um the what’s happening right now is the medical patients are getting those discounts but the small businesses the small social Equity businesses are eating those discounts right and that is a cry and shame um we want to be able to support both demographics um and and and not have them eat into their profits just to be able to support the patients well said Ed I I thank you for that last part was why I I didn’t mean to but I almost cut you off because like you say they’re doing their best to to provide for the med patients but it’s at their own expense instead of you know what could be offered to them which like you say Peter it is just a technical change um there there’s no difference so thank you for interjecting with that thank you Edie um couple other things you know just on the medical side you know some very very specific things like you know allowing physical examinations for uh patients to happen using tele medicine so folks especially if have mobility issues um or any kind of health issues that that it’s best to just stay home let’s keep people at home like it’s this is not um you know this is this is common sense stuff exists in in other Industries and so we definitely recognize um you know let’s let’s use technology to our advantage um and and make make like people’s lives a little bit easier um couple of other things on the medical side there’s some very you know again going back to some of the technical language um that has a real life impact in people’s Liv is is this this odor-proof container um language there’s again a lot of complexity uh in Illinois we have very very high like standard so if you’re you know carrying cannabis it has to be in this odor prooof childproof tamperproof um resistant packaging obviously those are very difficult standards and so we’re trying to um address the you know the issues those are having with people because odor proof is a very difficult standard to actually meet because cannabis is so pungent these fibers are you know if you open a jar or something like they’re you know they’re they’re very difficult to get out um and so odor proof is is you know one of those very in the weeds conversations that um you know we’re having because again this is having you know real life consequences in people’s lives people getting pulled over people getting stopped um by the police and so we definitely want to make sure we can clarify this um as much as possible so again get a little too technical for for for for now but um the last thing on the medical side is is potentially trying to see if we can increase that plant limit um you know we are very proom grow we would love for hom grow to be for all you know 21 and up that is just not the reality this legislative s we definitely again want to do that um maybe maybe that’s something we can do later this year or or next year um but yeah definitely we can see some some changes make this program a little bit more accessible um but yeah that’s that’s definitely a much longer a much longer conversation I’m sorry you finished with the medical part right um one of the things that we see a lot and you’ve probably heard this a lot suo is a lot of the medical patients feel completely forgotten Left Behind um once adult use happened like once adult use became legal and we had adult use you know dispensaries and even we have like the Dual use sensories um the focus on the patient really dwindled and the patient felt abandoned and they feel like there’s all this this uh focus on making money and social activity and all that but they really feel left behind so this is really important to us to also show as an alliance like we’re still here for the patients we are still an advocate for them that’s really one of the tenants that Chicago normal started from because when we started there was no adult use so it’s just very important to us from an organizational standpoint and as advocates to really highlight that part that we’re still here looking out for the patient so it doesn’t have to be about if you feel F recreationally it doesn’t have to be about if you have a license or you want to get a license you don’t have to have any kind of business um aspirations in the Cannabis industry because this is something that really does affect a lot more people I just wanted to bring that yeah and I’ll just quickly say that that is why I love this list this one pager and that is why I’m going to support it all the way to the end because um it’s like the first time in a while where I’ve seen you know people come together and not have a complete industry focus and still have a little bit like I’ve always said the patients or just the people that use cannabis from time to time need a reason to feel motivated to call or show up in Springfield to the average person frankly this issue is over there are stores you have to go to yeah it’s a little bit expensive but whatever to the average person this issue is over so I’ve been I really hope that that the people see the value and what you’re pushing for here um because it’s important work so thank you I just wanted to say that briefly thank you to Ace uh for including consumer focused Provisions yeah I want to add one more thing to that um as a formal uh medical patient here in Illinois um one of the reasons I stopped being a patient was because of the lack of access um to the stores and having to drive sometime 30 40 miles to get what I need when there’s a store like literally five minutes from my house and I can’t use my benefits there and then there was also when they started switching up the menus and not having enough for medical patients and putting it on the rec side opposed to the medical side um so some things like that need to be addressed as well and we think this legislation will help um address a lot of those issues and bring more people back to the program because they have more access to them their neighborhood stores and that’s why it’s important that we help the social Equity people by giving them a a base as well amen yeah I think Kiana should talk about the social consumption spaces you know what I think Ed well on our one pager uh thank you for bringing that up uh we discuss expanding licenses for cannabis mes and temporary events where cannabis can be consumed because um as it expands only homeowners can legally consume cannabis so we’ve got all this uh all the weeds being sold all these products are being sold but legally right you can only um you know legally and specifically consume cannabis in in your home if you rent your ambulance says no if you have public housing you know you’re not supposed to be doing that in the street um and we want to give municipalities flexibility over consumption businesses which it really is about giving them the right to allow them or to not allow them um I think in the beginning were we were first working on this um when the C was just a built um you know they purposely left it vague we really tried to get things to be a lot more specific as it relates to social consumption but they purposely left it vag so that it would allow for municipalities to make those decisions on their own and so we are definitely proponents of that one of the reasons why I’m sure why Ed said that I could discuss this is because I am the owner of the studio to advance Urban creativity and education and it’s um known as the soft for short but we do have a consumption uh friendly space and really the only reason that we’re able to do that is because there is a residential apartment that I own above the commercial space so we are looking to just create a lot more um better culture better canab culture something that is far more normalized and um open and available and not attended and not treated like a criminal uh you know the terrible bad things like it’s legal but it’s not it’s the same way that you can have a drink at a bar you should be able to also you know Smoke Joint have an edle so that is a part of a platform as well abolutely I love it I love it and this is something near and dear to the Coalition all like we definitely want to see you know this is one of the Lord’s barriers to get in the in hisory and we continue to block it um our lawmakers continue to block it because they don’t want to have a conversation you know what I mean and a lot of it comes from lack of Education um them not understanding some of the rules that and laws that they put forward and how it affects this you know what I’m saying so at this point you know like I said this is near and dear to the coalition’s heart this is something we’ve been pushing from from day one um um and let’s give people opportunity to get in the industry uh in every possible way and the last thing I’ll say on on this point is is really just you know we Illinois has a very unique opportunity in this space because because no state has really fully embraced consumption lounges um they’re legal in in some States California Colorado um New Mexico um but no state has really become that you know cannabis tourism cannabis like consumption kind of hub uh and so we recognize specifically you know where we are in Chicago but but you know we have a huge metro area in St Louis um we have um a huge opportunity to not just be you know serving Community being you know a harm reduction tool you know because again we don’t want anybody getting evicted for this we know people get smoking in their cars and getting pulled over um but also there’s a again to Doug’s Point there’s an this is a much lower barrier to entry uh when you really think about the tourism kind of factor in this like Chicago Illinois we should be the leader in this we could be you know our our lawmakers you know the language they speak fluently is money and revenue this is something that if we really care about money and revenue all of these are happening these events are happening every single day across the state um and if we’re you know we want to tap into this uh this is a great opportunity so we’re really excited to support this um and really you know expand access to the whole consumption industry and I’m excited that this is something that Ace is tackling because again we’ve been in this water with social consumption spaces for years now since I mean it feels like I mean the pandemic was four years ago you know we’ve been doing this for a minute and hopefully you know with all of us backing this it’ll just be more powerful and louder yeah and we’re having this conversation in municipalities as well as downstate in in the capital um because right now it’s it’s up to the municipalities all they have to do is say yeah we’ll allow it and if they need to have some sort of ordinances or or regulations around it it’s up they can do it on that level and so what we need our uh lawmakers across the state and all the municipalities to know is that they have the power to do this um and what we’re asking for down on the one pager is um for our lawmakers to make it plain make it plain make it accessible you know um the the mayor of whatever’s Town doesn’t know that he have has the ability to do this or she or they you’re muted Cole thank you uh I was just saying uh that’s a very good point so um yeah um your last one is kind of related and forgive me if this is like an early draft that I’m displaying right now I think it’s related to something we already spoke about I think it’s just pointing out the fact that there already is a Senate Bill uh that exists by uh Senator Ventura right so yeah yeah this is definitely something that we really um yeah we can less focus on cab Bill 125 more focus on the issue itself just a reminder and Nicole’s cover this EXT ens ly on the show but the state supreme court did hear a case around the the police being able to use the smell of cannabis as probable cause we are just waiting for them to rule and so um we have been directed by lawmakers that they’re not going to do anything until the Supreme Court rules so this is something we keep it on here as as a placeholder making sure folks again are aware that like this has been um or is in the process of being addressed by our courts um and whatever they say um our lawmakers will will follow um based on what what is needed so just want to make sure folks are aware that this probable cause piece we are not ignoring this um it’s just uh the courts have to do their jobs yep yep and quick selfish plug I displayed it but for our listeners episode 47 if you want to see the supreme court hearing uh episode 49 if you’d like to see legal professionals talk about the hearing including one of the legal professionals that helped to draft Senate Bill 125 for Senator Ventura so obviously they have a little knowledge on the topic um so if you’re looking to learn more there you go um and I just want to say thank you again I know these are items for further consideration so maybe we don’t need to devote too much air time to them but I just want to say that I’ll give you the space to if you’d like but I just want to say that again as far as the list goes uh I’m in full support and I think after going through it I’m sure that some of my listeners will be like H you know what that is an issue you’re telling me that people got that got arrested for weed can’t work in the industry what are you talking about you know like things like that people may not have even known um that that was an issue and I’m referencing uh employee badging for folks that were wondering so um yeah yeah we we gota you know still understand you know when Illinois Tred this out it was supposed to be for those who were mostly impacted by the wal DRS and those same individuals are still being left out and left behind um so this is a part of the accountability stage we got to make sure the state is doing what they’re supposed to be doing what they said they were going to do but at the same time like to all your listeners and to everybody out there who consumes panes this should be a important issue for them um from a lot of different standpoints um even though it’s semi-legal here you know people are still being ticketed arrested and um and pulled over for the smell of cannabis and um we all know that once you get charged once they pull you over they’re looking for other things to to tack on to that and that’s why it’s so hard for people to get their records cleared it’s the extra things that packed on to um we made it so when we when they passed the legislation that only small amounts single Standalone cases um will exped automatically um but they left out the other things that got tagged on to those to those charges so it’s important that we change the whole landscape uh how the justice system work um surrounding canidates and a lot of other things well said Doug and just another example sad to say it but K Jones somebody who we all may know uh was recently put through the criminal justice system as a result of exactly this legislative priority we’re talking about they had four and a half grams of cannabis that was sealed wasn’t even opened the officer said I can smell it that’s the issue and that’s a Class A misdemeanor for folks that are wondering and you can get that you can get a Class A misdemeanor for domestic violence I always say I don’t know that that’s equivalent um but that’s that’s the law to Doug’s point and like you say Doug uh it’s it’s on us to acknowledge that first and foremost like we’re doing now and second of all you know prioritize it as an issue that needs to be solved and so again Community we need your help um we can talk about this stuff all day long well like we literally could couldn’t we like we could probably spend all day long sitting on here smoking weed talking about this [ __ ] but we can’t do it alone we need your help and so I want to reiterate that the sign up form is linked in our podcast description so that you can get involved again what better way to get involved in the political process something that’s usually seen as very mundane and daunting and kind of boring what better way to get involved in that process than with cannabis you can guarantee like if you show up somebody’s going to have weed so like you know it’s there there’s a bonus there too um sorry for going on a little bit of a monologue but I’m just trying to energize our community um folks before we go you know I wanted to give you space I told you I’d give you space if you wanted to talk about the items for further consideration if not it’s okay but I also just wanted to give you space just in general anything else you wanted to say today I can jump in real quick just on the items for further consideration then pass it to the team to close out sure um so just just real quick um you know as we said at the beginning this is a a long-term process a multi-year process we’re not going to be done anytime soon and so you know we have all these things on our list for this spring you know our lawmakers won’t come back to to Springfield till probably till the very end of this year so um you know we have to work in Windows and so we really want to make sure folks are very clear about again about this timeline that we prioritize things that can be done immediately and and anything that can’t has to be put on the back burner uh because again to to our to Ed’s point to everybody’s Point earlier like if we’re on different messages the whole thing can blow up and so really want to focus on two things for everybody one is regulatory consolidation um if you Google Illinois cannabis and you you know you’re looking for like one website that has everything in one place um good Lu um there’s a reason that everything is not in one place and it’s because we don’t have any Consolidated agency or or or commission that runs cannabis and so we’re you know one of the things we’re working on on again a multi-year process is what does it look like to set up a branch of the government that is working on cannabis only because right now working with with more than 10 different state agencies between ulture idfpr dceo Department of Public Health State Police the alphabet soup this is not sustainable and and it you know everybody suffers because of it um so we really want to make sure we bring everybody under one umbrella that’s a much bigger conversation of what umbrella that is because again state government is complicated and you know politics are politics um but again that that is a future thing and then the other really fun and exciting thing is hemp and Delta 8 products uh and so we just want to clarify you know our position as the alliance for cannabis Equity we believe that the state should regulate um hemp derivatives and and all the you know different psychoactive hemp products uh that are currently on the market we do want to make sure that you know there’s a lot of of of of good standing goodfaith businesses that are actually doing you know business by the books and actually care about selling good products um and serving Community there’s some businesses that are not doing that and so we want to make sure that um folks who actually want to participate and and be you know in the business uh we create a very clear pathway for those folks to participate so I just want to be very clear um because that that issue will eventually come up and um you know we saw it last spring that issue derailed the entire cannabis conversation which is why we didn’t get anything passed and so you know we have been very clear in our priorities since that time for over 12 months U we are still waiting to see you know what our lawmakers will do um but we just want to be clear that we have um been beating the same drum on that for well over a year and you know we just want to we’re here for Solutions we are not here to to prohibit stuff and criminalize people um just for the the sake of it because that that is um that’s gone on way too long so sorry yes and and we definitely want to separate those two issues those are two separate issues um H hemp and Delta H should not affect any legislation that’s going on on the on the Cannabis side um it’s very important that we do that um because federally legal it’s h is Fally legal um but you know it’s being used as a weapon to stop the social Equity people on the Cannabis side from moving forward there are issues with every single area of cannabis right now from the infusers not being able to get the stuff they need um even with the dispensary owners um they still have not received any money from um the loans that was to them um craft Growers got a temporary retrieve but it’s still not clear when they’ll be able to move straight go go to 14,000 square feet um delivery um is is really taking the biggest hit in this industry where they have license but no business um so that’s why we’re advocating for all these different things and this is why advocacy groups exist um it’s to make sure that the state is being held accountable for the things that they promis so we need every single body um and their parents and their kids um coming down and supporting us um um yes so this is a very important time and each year that we go by with no legislation pass it it harms the social Equity people um the people that this um whole thing was meant to to benefit to be clear we also need we need bodies and we need people and we have a bus and we having lunch and all of that but we also need money and we also need sponsors so if you can’t send your kid can you send your dollars um can you put some money in the collection plate this is not something that we get paid to do we are not paid glb is put five yes do you have five on it thank you Peter Peter just put that in the chat for those of us who can’t see but no but seriously we are looking for sponsors we get we got there is a lot that goes into this the people that you see and hear on this call have donated and given all of our resources from a personal perspective and also from an org from organizational perspective none of this stuff happens for free um and we cannot afford to continue just funding it out of our pockets and out of the kindness of our hearts so please if you can’t come you can absolutely still support we also need help with sharing the message so if you got $10 maybe three or four of your friends also have $10 or $100 and and every little bit counts right if everybody does a little nobody has to do a lot so please um is is it on the bitly forward springfi 2024 is that the link or can you just make sure that there’s a link put somewhere yeah bit. Springfield 24 got that in the uh description uh for our listeners I just dropped another one too oh perfect um and I just wanted to say to to um Kiana’s point you know I’ll I’ll go here I I won’t go too long but I’ll go here uh I’ve talked about this before like this is what we’re up against folks uh we need money because there’s just big money interests uh involved and frankly it’s look I don’t want to make it more than what it is it’s as simple it can be as simple as things like we want to get you guys lunch and we want to be able to pay for your time there it’s not devious you know all the time the reason the the need for money is just logistical purposes uh but I just have to say that we’re up against some big money interests and I’ve talked about this adnasium on my show so I’m not going to go into it right now but if folks want to learn more about it just go to co memo.com hisory or you can see that the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition is posting about it you can find this information on Illinois sunshine.org the long story short is we need your support in so many different ways because we’re just up against a a big machine I’ll keep it at that yeah the last thing I’ll say about the workshop um this year we like I said earlier we are um targeting specifically the messages on the one pager for us to talk about but more broadly I’d have to say that it is really empowering to be able to go down the Springfield identify who your lawmaker is get up in their face and tell them what you care about if it’s not about cannabis at least you’ll learn how to do that you might care about something else in your neighborhood but the skills and the um the tactics that we use you can use that across the board for whatever you care about and it’s really empowering I think K Kiana and I did it for the first time together in DC which was really intimidating um but once you get the hang of it it really isn’t and go out there and be civically engaged absolutely it’s important that we do it I think everybody should um go to their Capital billing no no matter what state they’re in and then you get to see firsthand how things operate and if that don’t make you want to make some changes then I don’t know what will um but we need to understand how they operate and the things that they’re doing we said multiple times on this they work for us and we need to make them understand that they do work for us um but we have to engage um we have to vote there there are things that we have to do on I in as well so going down there should inspire you to get more engaged as well yeah yeah that’s what I meant when I started the show folks if if it didn’t if it wasn’t clear like when I say Canabis is a gateway drug this is a again a perfect way to get involved in politics kind of get familiar with how the work and then yeah with other issues that you know affect your life then you could take the same approach you know a powerful lesson go ahead sorry mention we have fun when we’re all down there together yeah you know it’s a good time yeah yeah that part too but perhaps it’s a little bit more effective you know what’s crazy like we said we don’t go smoke weed on at the capital people would show up to smoke weed on the lawn of Springfield thing that’s not what we’re doing and that’s not like we are going a different route that we you know look to be a lot more effective um even if it doesn’t get you know the eyes and the ears of the more salacious things so I know if we were having a party or we were going to smoke weed on the lawn of the state capital lot of people would show up let us been like we’re doing that but we’re not doing that we’re going to lobby and it’s on 418 so it’s a perfect uh entryway get the Gateway into the 420 holiday but come to the workshop first yep get to that Workshop get to the workshop it’s gonna be awesome so you know what you’re doing when you get down there yes but just understand too you will have people to lead you around as well we not just bringing you guys and be like hey run around Springfield no we’re not doing that you know we’re g to have um groups that will take you around to the different um parts the building and explain some stuff to you um and hopefully we can you’ll be able to meet your lawmakers um when they see large crowds they kind of duck and then but we know all the hiding places where they potentially go so um yeah this can be uh a very fun educational and opportunity to really engage in your your civil um priorities you know this is something everybody should do um they took this out of schooling for a reason because they wanted you not to be able to understand the process um before when we started really engaging in in in Civics we they back in my day they talked this in school they took it out because too many people were uh beginning to understand the power they had um and now they just want you to stay sleep we woke now and it’s time for us to make changes if they’re not doing supposed to be go down to Springfield eth grade trips used to go to Springfield now they go to every year every eighth grade class had a chance to go to Spring trip but they’re doing that for a reason that’s why they took it out for us to just not understand it um and just go along with whatever they do times are changing we have to make that change though said and I’mma get off my gonna say it’s gonna be hard to follow that one up that that was very well said um I want to give you the space though does anybody else have anything to say before we wrap we good cool I think we’re good um I just want to say yeah uh you know thank you for not stealing my idea of smoking at the capital that’s something that’ll happen in the future be warned hash Wednesday is coming back if you’re wondering what I’m talking about what’s that we’ll leave that to you y that’s just me that’s just me uh you know and if folks want to know the the reference I just made that’s an Illinois reference know your Illinois history hash Wednesday if you want to learn more another selfish plug Co memo.com well folks I had a lot of fun today and um I’m looking forward to seeing all of you in Springfield not only you that I’m talking to right now but all of you that are listening I hope to see you in Springfield but first at the workshop um check out the links in the description and uh that’ll make it easy for you to sign up and uh follow Chicago normal and everybody on Ace on social media um be sure to connect with all of them we’ll have links to them in the so uh description as well folks I hope you found as much value in this conversation as I did we’ll see you in the next episode of the Cole memo take care thanks Cole thanks Cole thank you all go bye about:blank