The long-running tug-of-war between Illinois’ licensed cannabis and unregulated hemp industries reached a head at the end of the legislative session in Springfield, where lawmakers approved sweeping reforms to regulate delta-8 and other intoxicating, hemp-derived products in the same manner as recreational marijuana.
With a new federal ban looming this November on hemp edibles, vapes, beverages and other products that have been marketed in a legal gray area since 2018, state lawmakers passed a bill to license the goods that affect people like weed but technically aren’t.
Gov. JB Pritzker signed his long-sought crackdown into law Friday, declaring that instead “of letting an ambiguous marketplace keep putting people at risk, Illinois is taking action to protect consumers of all ages, especially children, from misleading packaging and labeling.”
