SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Fine (D-Glenview) voted to legalize cannabis for recreational use in Illinois today, with the measure passing the Senate by a vote of 38 – 17 with two members voting present.

“This carefully crafted legislation is the result of months of negotiations between many interested parties,” Fine said. “It provides local control, giving communities the ability to make decisions about allowing a business to establish operations, it protects employers, allowing them to maintain a zero tolerance policy, and it allocates revenue for education, law enforcement, and mental health services.”

House Bill 1438 legalizes the possession and consumption of recreational cannabis for people over the age of 21 in Illinois, with slightly different restrictions placed on residents and non-residents. The bill also allows medical cannabis patients to grow their own plants, and provides a process through which conviction and arrest records for cannabis can be expunged.

The measure passed the Senate and will return to the House for concurrence.