Taylor Hager has been using medical marijuana for about three years. She thinks the recreational use of the drug could be beneficial.
"I think it would really help the revenue, It would help morale in the area," said Hager.
Illinois Residents could possess up to 30 grams of marijuana at a time. Non-residents would be allowed to posses half that.
"We will have the option to have two recreational dispensaries," said Shannon Ballegeer, a manager at Nature's Treatment of Illinois Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Milan, Illinois. "With a recreational dispensary we would probably add another 20-25 jobs in this area."
Concerns still linger. The new rules would allow Illinois residents to grow up to five plants at home.
"There`s the worry that it will increase the black market. There`s a history of fentanyl being found in street weed," said Ballegeer.
Local police also share the concern.
A statement from the Knox County Sheriff says in part, "home grow makes it impossible for law enforcement to distinguish between legal and illegal products,"
For Hager, the legalization just makes sense.
"Most people I know, and I know many, that use it not to get high but to blow off steam throughout the day. They don`t want to go out drinking, they want to stop smoking cigarettes," she said.
Illinois lawmakers have until May 31 to vote on this plan. If approved, recreational marijuana could be sold in the state starting in January of 2020.
Illinois would join ten other states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
