Cannabis laws in Illinois

Illinois was the first state where recreational marijuana sales were legalized by the state legislature and not a ballot initiative. The first dispensaries opened in January 2020, and reported some $3.2 million in sales on the first day of operations. The state legalized medical cannabis in 2013, and allows the cultivation of up to five plants for medical patients. For non-medical patients, cultivating up to five plants is considered a violation and subject to a $200 fine.

How to get a medical card in Illinois

Prospective medical marijuana recipients in the state of Illinois must apply online for acceptance. Before filling out the online form, applicants must print out the physician certification from the Medical Cannabis Pilot Program website and get it filled out and signed from a physician specifying their condition, and submit it along with a passport photo. They must also make sure to have a valid government-issued ID from the state of Illinois.

Applicants must apply for a one, two, or three-year registry identification card. These cost $100, $200, and $250 respectively. People who receive Social Security Disability Income or Supplemental security UIncome (SSI) and veterans may be eligible for the reduced application fee, which cuts the cost in half.

Applicants who have been diagnosed with six months or less to live qualify for a free Terminal Illness Registry Card. The state also allows designated caregivers to procure medical marijuana, provided they are at least 21 years of age, have agreed to assist with a patient’s medical use of cannabis, have not been convicted of an excluded offense, and are not assisting more than one registered qualifying patient with their medical cannabis use.

Qualifying conditions

The qualifying “debilitating medical conditions” that patients in Illinois can receive medical cannabis for include:

Cancer
Glaucoma
Positive status for (HIV)
AIDS
Hepatitis C
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Crohn’s disease (including, but not limited to, ulcerative colitis)
Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
Cachexia/wasting syndrome
Muscular dystrophy
Severe fibromyalgia
Spinal cord disease,including but not limited to arachnoiditis
Tarlov cysts
Hydromyelia
Syringomyelia
Rheumatoid arthritis
Fibrous dysplasia
Spinal cord injury
Traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Arnold-Chiari malformation and Syringomyelia
Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
Parkinson’s Disease
Tourette’s
Myoclonus
Dystonia
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, RSD (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type I)
Causalgia
CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndromes Type II)
Neurofibromatosis
Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
Sjogren’s syndrome
Lupus
Interstitial Cystitis
Myasthenia Gravis
Hydrocephalus
Nail-patella syndrome
Residual limb pain
Seizures (including those characteristic of epilepsy)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Autism
Chronic pain
Irritable bowel syndrome
Migraines
Osteoarthritis
Anorexia nervosa
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
Neuro-Behcet’s Autoimmune Disease
Neuropathy
Polycystic kidney disease
Superior canal dehiscence syndrome

Reciprocity

Illinois does not honor medical marijuana licenses from other states.

Where to Buy

Illinois lawmakers approved the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act in 2013, and it went into effect in 2014. Under the law, patients can be in possession of up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis in a 14-day period and as of January 2020, they can also grow up to five plants.

The first medical dispensary in the state opened in 2015, and there are currently dozens operating in the state.

In 2019, Illinois approved the possession and sale of recreational cannabis, and as of January 2020, adults over the age of 21 can purchase marijuana at the state’s legal retail cannabis dispensaries.