For more than six years, Chicago Tribune reporter Robert McCoppin has documented the evolution of Illinois’ cannabis industry, from the earliest legalization debates to today’s fights over home grow, market concentration, ownership transparency, hemp, and continued criminalization. In this episode, Robert joins me to reflect on the stories behind the headlines and what he’s learned covering one of the state’s most consequential policy changes.
We discuss campaign contributions during legalization, limited licensing, why Illinois remains one of the nation’s most expensive cannabis markets, the ongoing debate over home cultivation, cannabis seed sales, public access to ownership records, management agreements, hemp regulation, and whether Illinois has lived up to its promises of social equity. If you’ve followed Illinois cannabis over the past six years, this conversation offers an inside look at how one of the state’s leading reporters has covered it all.
- Watch the episode on Youtube here
- Stream the episode on Soundcloud here
- Stream the episode on Spotify here
- Stream the episode on Apple Podcast here
- Stream the episode on X here
Links mentioned during show
- Medical marijuana growers are lobbying for licenses that also would allow them to control supply of recreational pot in Illinois
- Illinois marijuana growers spent about $600,000 on political giving leading to the pot legalization vote. Here’s where the money went.
- Frustrated with shortages, medical marijuana patients begin growing their own at home
- Who’s profiting off the millions that Illinois’ marijuana business is bringing in? State officials are keeping that secret.
- Growing debate: Cannabis growers want the option of cultivating outside, but state regulators keep trying to stop it
- Legal weed’s first year in Chicago: High arrest rates for Black people, a boutique experience for others
The Cole Memo 
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