Across the country the decriminalization of marijuana has been taking place in the legal system. Dispensaries are popping up all over the west coast and more states are legalizing marijuana for medicinal use. But why won’t the Illinois legislature get with the program? more ›

Senate Bill 1381, also known as The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, is one step closer to reality after the Illinois Senate's Public Health Committee voted 6-2 to advance the bill yesterday. Dan Bernath, assistant director of communications for the lobbying group the Marijuana Policy Project, told the Chi-Town Daily News, “There is a mountain of scientific evidence that it is a very safe and effective medication for some types of disease for some types of patients. For many people, not all, this is the best medicine that best treats their symptoms and their conditions. It’s bizarre to think that the government or law enforcement should be involved in that position." more ›

One resident at a Northwest side apartment building has been arrested after a Sunday night fire revealed his "sophisticated" pot-growing operation to investigating authorities. The fire broke out in the first floor of a two-story building in the 6000 block of North Christiana Avenue around 10:20 p.m. last night. Fire crews responded and put the fire out, but upon investigating damage in an apartment on the building's second floor, they discovered the operation which consisted of, according to WBBM, "about 130 cannabis plants, about 10 pounds of dried marijuana and various types of paraphernalia." One firefighter was injured when his face was cut by glass but he was not hospitalized. [CBN, WBBM] more ›

Add Samuel Randall to the list of "Chicago People Who We Need To Party With." Randall was arrested yesterday for possession of six pounds of cannabis. That amount has a street value of $18,000 or enough to get one through an East Coast leg of a Phish tour. Zing! Randall was pulled over by police after he was spotted driving the wrong way down a one-way street yesterday afternoon. During the stop, officers spotted two bags of the wacky weed in one of the car's cup holders and smelled the rest in a shopping bag on the front seat. Everyone knows you hide that stuff in the spare tire wheel well in the trunk. Though, judging by the mug shot, it appears as if Randall was sampling his own product too much to think through the haze. more ›