Senator Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) released the following statement after voting “no” on legislation legalizing recreational cannabis:
“No libertarian point of view would countenance giving licensure preference for pot shops in the poorest zip codes of Illinois, yet this is what this bill does. Think about this for a moment: we are putting the state’s official stamp of approval on a policy that, in essence, promotes keeping poor people stoned. This bill left the libertarian world view behind a long time ago, a world view that let people do their own thing in their own home. It is now about corporatized ‘Biz Pot’ – that targets our poorest neighborhoods. What society does that? Illinois apparently.”