Cannabis

Illinois regulators have approved recreational cannabis sales at the medical cannabis dispensary in Normal.

McLean County plans to use a portion of revenue from a new sales tax on recreational cannabis to pay for mental health services, based on a plan the County Board adopted Tuesday.

McLean County administration is proposing maxing out its tax rates for recreational marijuana sales, as a starting point for discussions the county’s elected leaders plan to have in the coming weeks.

Bloomington-Normal is one step closer to getting its first recreational cannabis retailer.

Most parts of Bloomington-Normal will be eligible for a new state grant program funded by cannabis sales revenue that’s aimed at those communities hardest hit by the war on drugs.

UPDATED 1:30 p.m. | Normal’s medical cannabis dispensary wants to sell recreational cannabis too.

The McLean County Board on Tuesday narrowly struck down proposals that would have enabled the county to opt-out of allowing marijuana sales in unincorporated areas of the county or could have allowed county residents to weigh in through an advisory referendum.

Bloomington's city council is expected to formally adopt a policy regulating cannabis businesses on Monday night, about two weeks before recreational marijuana use becomes legal in Illinois.

A McLean County Board member wants the public to have a say on where a marijuana business might be allowed to locate when recreational cannabis use becomes legal in Illinois next year.

Potential recreational cannabis businesses now know where in Normal they can and cannot locate.

Residents of Bloomington’s oldest neighborhood have taken several steps to embrace its history and diversity in a plan that city officials hope will be a model for other neighborhoods to follow.

The zoning amendment that will go before the Normal Town Council for consideration Nov. 18 would allow cannabis-related businesses to locate in the town — with restrictions.

McLean County officials are starting to explore how welcoming they may be for recreational marijuana sales when they become legal next year, even though the odds are slim the county would get a dispensary in an unincorporated area.

The list of Illinois cities saying "no" to marijuana sales keeps growing.

State officials said Monday that Bloomington’s west side and neighborhoods around Illinois State University were among the hardest-hit by the war on drugs – and those living there should get a leg up when cannabis becomes legal next year.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner told city council members on Monday he plans to have a list of members he’s seeking to appoint to a cannabis task force for approval next week.

Businesses will have to change, well, the way they do business after recreational cannabis use becomes legal in January. Till now, simple drug-screening tests have helped employers maintain a drug-free workplace. After January it won't be that simple at all.

Despite some members voicing concerns it might slow the process, the Bloomington City Council on Monday approved a request to establish a task force in preparation for next year’s legalization of recreational marijuana use.

The Bloomington City Council will consider creating a task force to figure how it will handle recreational marijuana use when it becomes legal Jan. 1.