Illinois officials have announced the approval of $45 million in grants to support community reinvestment for those affected by the war on drugs. The grant funds were generated from the sales tax of adult-use cannabis sales. Under the state’s recreational marijuana law, 25% of the tax revenue generated from cannabis sales must support communities that are economically disadvantaged, experiencing high violence rates, or were disproportionately impacted by drug criminalization.
The reinvestment is part of the Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program, established under the state’s legalization of adult-use cannabis. This will be the second round of funding to be rolled out by the program, and will support 148 small budget programs within socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. The Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) reported that they’ve received 512 submissions for the grant. Those who received funding from the first R3 grant will have their funding renewed to continue providing their services and improving the community.
Since the legalization of cannabis, Illinois has generated massive amounts of revenue from its marajuana sales. In July, $3.5 million in sales tax revenue was used to reduce violence through the application of street intervention programs. Since then, marjiuana sales have continued to increase. Just last year, adult-use cannabis made more than $100 million in tax revenue compared to alcohol sales. Outside of sales, the state has also made movements to aid those with past cannabis convictions. Governor Pritzker announced that his office processed more than 500,000 expungements and pardons for low-level cannabis convictions in 2020. Pritzker also signed a bill that prevents courts from denying petitions to expunge or seal records based on a positive marijuana drug test. Furthermore, Illinois has recently established a state-funded initiative to help residents with marijuana convictions get the legal aid and other services needed to expunge their record.
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