Bill Text: IL HR0700 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges the Illinois General Assembly to cap THC levels in marijuana by placing limits on the amount of THC contained in retail products, placing limits on the amount of cannabis a retailer can sell to an individual in a single transaction or over a period of time based on the amount of THC contained, and implementing a seed-to-sale tracking system, allowing regulatory agencies to view every gram of legal cannabis as it migrates through the supply chain, including monitoring ingredients added to cannabis that are eventually sold in retail stores.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 11-3)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-03 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Dennis Tipsword, Jr. [HR0700 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0700-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Recreational marijuana was legalized on January
1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the
principal psychoactive component in marijuana; and
WHEREAS, Marijuana of the 1960s and 1970s contained around
2 to 3% THC; today, marijuana contains THC levels of 80% or
more, making it very dangerous; and
WHEREAS, The evidence of harm regarding high-potency
marijuana use is overwhelming; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), there were 1,009 car fatalities in
Illinois in 2019; after marijuana legalization, there were
1,337 car fatalities in Illinois in 2021, the highest death
toll since 2005; and
WHEREAS, In 2013, the year after Colorado legalized
recreational marijuana, traffic deaths where drivers tested
positive for THC increased by 138% while traffic deaths in
Colorado overall increased by 29%; and

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WHEREAS, In January 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported
that more potent cannabis and more frequent use are
contributing to higher rates of psychosis, especially in young
people; and
WHEREAS, A 2017 study in the American Journal of
Psychiatry found that one psychotic episode following cannabis
use was associated with a 47% chance of developing
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while the risk of
developing bipolar or schizophrenic disorders was highest for
cannabis users aged 16 to 25 and had a greater influence than
alcohol, opioids, amphetamines, and hallucinogens; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Deepali Gershan, an addiction psychiatrist at
Compass Health Center in Northbrook, stated that up to 20% of
her caseload consists of patients whom she suspects
experienced psychotic episodes that were triggered by
marijuana use; and
WHEREAS, Examples of individuals who experienced
cannabis-induced psychosis include foreign exchange student
Levi Thamba Pongi from the Republic of Congo, who ate one
pot-laced cookie and jumped to his death from a 4-story
balcony in Colorado on March 11, 2014, Richard Kirk of
Colorado, a father of three who threatened suicide after
eating marijuana-laced candy and then shooting his wife in the

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head while she spoke to a 911 operator on April 17, 2014, and
Bryn Spejcher of California, who suffered a psychotic incident
after getting high on high potency marijuana and stabbed her
boyfriend 108 times in 2018; and
WHEREAS, Multiple acts of mass shootings and domestic
terrorism have occurred by habitual or heavy users of today's
typically high THC-level marijuana, including, but certainly
not limited to, shooter Jared Loughner, who killed six and
injured 14 at then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford's
constituent meeting in Tucson, Arizona in 2011, shooter James
Holmes, who killed 12 and injured dozens at a movie theater in
Aurora, Colorado in 2012, bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan
Tsarnaev, who killed four and injured over 250 at the Boston
Marathon in 2013, and shooter Devin Patrick Kelly, who killed
27 and injured 20 people attending First Baptist Church in
Sutherland Springs, Texas in 2017; and
WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health states
that marijuana use affects the parts of the brain responsible
for memory, learning, attention, decision-making,
coordination, emotions, and reaction time; and
WHEREAS, In 2020, Psychology Today reported that
individuals who began marijuana use the earliest and continued
throughout adulthood lose, on average, eight IQ points, which

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is sufficient enough to alter academic success and job
opportunities; and
WHEREAS, The 2022 Marijuana Legalization Illinois Impact
Report found that some marijuana products are infused with up
to 500 milligrams of THC; and
WHEREAS, By comparison, Vermont has set potency limits of
5 milligrams of THC per serving, and Connecticut has limited
edibles containing THC to 5 milligrams per serving; and
WHEREAS, Citing the dramatic surge in vehicle crashes,
increased THC levels, and a rise in diagnoses of psychosis
linked to marijuana use, the Illinois State Medical Society
supports capping THC levels at 10%; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we urge the Illinois General Assembly to cap THC levels in
marijuana by placing limits on the amount of THC contained in
retail products, placing limits on the amount of cannabis a
retailer can sell to an individual in a single transaction or
over a period of time based on the amount of THC contained, and
implementing a seed-to-sale tracking system, allowing
regulatory agencies to view every gram of legal cannabis as it
migrates through the supply chain, including monitoring

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