Category: Article
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Illinois Supreme Court: Burnt Cannabis Odor Insufficient for Search, Unburnt Odor Decision to Come
On September 19th, as anticipated by The Cole Memo*, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a key ruling on the cannabis odor issue. The Court ruled that the smell of burnt cannabis alone can no longer justify a vehicle search. While the ‘odor-proof container’ language was a central topic in a hearing earlier this year, the…
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Mini Doc Screening in Chicagoland on 9/18 at 5:30PM
Hi everyone, I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve booked another location for the screening of my mini-documentary! This event will be hosted by the amazing folks at Blue Island Beer Company and High Focus Media. You can purchase your tickets here. Limited seating available. If you can’t make it to the screening, the documentary will…
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Exclusive Follow Up: Outdoor cultivation of cannabis in Illinois
Traditionally, the cultivation of cannabis in Illinois has been confined to indoor facilities, with strict regulations ensuring that the plant is grown in controlled environments. In December 2023, after over a year of casual investigation, I released information suggesting that a select few cultivation centers in Illinois had been quietly granted permission to grow cannabis…
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Exclusive: Illinois State Cannabis Lab Nears Completion
Inspiration for This Article On December 10, 2021, the Chicago Sun-Times published a series of articles about cannabis testing in Illinois. On February 2nd, 2022, I released a conversation that I had with the lead journalists behind the Sun-Times commissioned lab testing, Tom Schuba and Stephanie Zimmerman. During the conversation, they explain their research which…
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Exclusive: Uncovering Unpublished Cannabis Data – Illinois Cannabis Testing Results
Inspiration for my Request Investigation by Chicago Sun-Times On December 10, 2021, the Chicago Sun-Times published a series of articles about cannabis testing in Illinois. On February 2nd, 2022, I released a conversation that I had with the lead journalists behind the Sun-Times commissioned lab testing, Tom Schuba and Stephanie Zimmerman. During the conversation, they…
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Legislative Update from State of Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation Office
The Illinois Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office (CROO) has released a newsletter detailing the latest developments in cannabis and hemp regulation from the 2024 spring legislative session. The newsletter also highlights CROO’s current stance on various issues, and outlines initiatives that they consider to be ongoing. Additionally, CROO highlighted the release of a disparity study. You…
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Illinois Officially Publishes State-Mandated Disparity Study
Earlier this morning, I wrote about how the Illinois Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Disparity Study was seemingly overdue by 5 months. Shortly after I published my article, the state’s webpage for the Disparity Study was updated to include the official Illinois Adult-Use Cannabis Industry Disparity Study for 2024. You can read the state’s press release for…
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Overdue: Illinois’ State-Mandated Study Is “Being Finalized”
Article Updated at 2:57PM on 7/11/24: shortly after I published this article, the state officially released the Disparity Study. Read it here. Over the years, I have been making an effort to work with the state of Illinois to provide some clarity on the cannabis laws that exist in the state of Illinois. In the…
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The rules for home cultivation remain a bit hazy in Illinois
As some of you may know, I have been working with the state of Illinois to clarify the state’s cannabis laws. In a continuation of my efforts, I recently asked the state of Illinois to clarify what the possession limit is for registered medical cannabis patients in the state of Illinois. While this might seem…
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Press Release: Cannabis Equity Advocates Demand Accountability for Inaction on Cannabis Policy
The Alliance for Cannabis Equity (ACE) has issued a statement in response to the most recent legislative session. In the release, ACE addressed the failure to advance cannabis omnibus legislation, HB2911, which included language that satisfied several objectives from their list of legislative priorities. You can view or download the entire press release below. Earlier…
The Cole Memo 