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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Illinois is dedicated to cannabis equity in the
3regulation of industrial hemp, especially for those who have
4been negatively impacted by the criminalization of cannabis;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois seeks to ensure the inclusion of two
7groups of citizens in those eligible to obtain industrial help
8licenses, those citizens with felony records related to
9cannabis and those from areas in the State that have been
10disproportionately impacted by the criminalization of
11cannabis; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In 2020, the ACLU reported that Illinois had the
13third highest rate of bias in cannabis arrests in the United
14States; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 2017, researchers estimated that 8% of the
16U.S. population has felony convictions, and 33% of the African
17American male population has a felony conviction; and
 
18    WHEREAS, A study conducted by the Center for the Study of
19Economic Liberty at Arizona State University examined the
20relationship between occupational licensing laws and new crime
21recidivism; states with the highest occupational burdens,

 

 

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1including prohibitions on ex-prisoners receiving licenses, saw
2an increase in three-year new crime recidivism of 9.4% between
31997 and 2007; this is in comparison to a 2.6% average increase
4in survey states and a 4.2% decrease in states with the lowest
5occupational licensing burden; and
 
6    WHEREAS, A Blue Ribbon Commission report on marijuana
7regulations for California summarized that: "If a strategy of
8legislation is to bring current participants in the illicit
9market who are willing to comply with regulations into the
10legal market, then categorical exclusions of people who have
11in the past or are currently in the illicit market would be
12counterproductive, leaving many to continue working in the
13illicit market."; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Industrial hemp comes from the cannabis sativa
15plant; hemp and cannabis both derive from the cannabis sativa
16species and contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); hemp is used
17in clothing, paper, animal feed, and textiles; and
 
18    WHEREAS, In 2015, the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program became
19effective in Illinois, which allowed researchers and
20institutions of higher education to grow hemp for educational
21purposes; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The 2018 federal Farm Bill allows farmers and

 

 

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1others to plant and process hemp nationally and allowed for
2the interstate transportation of hemp products; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The 2018 Farm Bill prohibits a person convicted
4of a "felony relating to a controlled substance under State or
5federal law" from producing hemp for a 10-year period
6following the date of the conviction; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The prohibition stated in the Illinois Hemp Plan,
8approved by the USDA, only applies to a person "who has
9executive managerial control" of the entity; and
 
10    WHEREAS, If the Illinois Department of Agriculture wants
11to maintain primary regulatory control over its hemp program,
12the Illinois Department of Agriculture must follow the federal
13requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The exclusion of persons with felony charges
15related to a controlled substance is contrary to Illinois'
16goal to include those principally affected by the
17criminalization of cannabis; and
 
18    WHEREAS, A Farm Bill is due for consideration by the U.S.
19Congress in 2022; Congress can make changes to laws governing
20the cultivation and processing of hemp authorized by the 2018
21Farm Bill in order to allow Illinois to continue to promote the

 

 

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1inclusion of those with past felonies for participation in its
2Industrial Hemp Program; therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5we affirm the State's dedication to cannabis equity and
6respectfully ask members of the U.S. Congress to allow persons
7with felonies related to controlled substances to obtain
8industrial hemp licenses; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10delivered to all members of the Illinois Congressional
11Delegation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and
12the Attorney General of the United States.