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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Recreational marijuana was legalized on January
31, 2020; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the
5principal psychoactive component in marijuana; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Marijuana of the 1960s and 1970s contained around
72 to 3% THC; today, marijuana contains THC levels of 80% or
8more, making it very dangerous; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The evidence of harm regarding high-potency
10marijuana use is overwhelming; and
 
11    WHEREAS, According to the National Highway Traffic Safety
12Administration (NHTSA), there were 1,009 car fatalities in
13Illinois in 2019; after marijuana legalization, there were
141,337 car fatalities in Illinois in 2021, the highest death
15toll since 2005; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In 2013, the year after Colorado legalized
17recreational marijuana, traffic deaths where drivers tested
18positive for THC increased by 138% while traffic deaths in
19Colorado overall increased by 29%; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In January 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported
2that more potent cannabis and more frequent use are
3contributing to higher rates of psychosis, especially in young
4people; and
 
5    WHEREAS, A 2017 study in the American Journal of
6Psychiatry found that one psychotic episode following cannabis
7use was associated with a 47% chance of developing
8schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, while the risk of
9developing bipolar or schizophrenic disorders was highest for
10cannabis users aged 16 to 25 and had a greater influence than
11alcohol, opioids, amphetamines, and hallucinogens; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Dr. Deepali Gershan, an addiction psychiatrist at
13Compass Health Center in Northbrook, stated that up to 20% of
14her caseload consists of patients whom she suspects
15experienced psychotic episodes that were triggered by
16marijuana use; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Examples of individuals who experienced
18cannabis-induced psychosis include foreign exchange student
19Levi Thamba Pongi from the Republic of Congo, who ate one
20pot-laced cookie and jumped to his death from a 4-story
21balcony in Colorado on March 11, 2014, Richard Kirk of
22Colorado, a father of three who threatened suicide after
23eating marijuana-laced candy and then shooting his wife in the

 

 

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1head while she spoke to a 911 operator on April 17, 2014, and
2Bryn Spejcher of California, who suffered a psychotic incident
3after getting high on high potency marijuana and stabbed her
4boyfriend 108 times in 2018; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Multiple acts of mass shootings and domestic
6terrorism have occurred by habitual or heavy users of today's
7typically high THC-level marijuana, including, but certainly
8not limited to, shooter Jared Loughner, who killed six and
9injured 14 at then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford's
10constituent meeting in Tucson, Arizona in 2011, shooter James
11Holmes, who killed 12 and injured dozens at a movie theater in
12Aurora, Colorado in 2012, bombers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan
13Tsarnaev, who killed four and injured over 250 at the Boston
14Marathon in 2013, and shooter Devin Patrick Kelly, who killed
1527 and injured 20 people attending First Baptist Church in
16Sutherland Springs, Texas in 2017; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health states
18that marijuana use affects the parts of the brain responsible
19for memory, learning, attention, decision-making,
20coordination, emotions, and reaction time; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 2020, Psychology Today reported that
22individuals who began marijuana use the earliest and continued
23throughout adulthood lose, on average, eight IQ points, which

 

 

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1is sufficient enough to alter academic success and job
2opportunities; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The 2022 Marijuana Legalization Illinois Impact
4Report found that some marijuana products are infused with up
5to 500 milligrams of THC; and
 
6    WHEREAS, By comparison, Vermont has set potency limits of
75 milligrams of THC per serving, and Connecticut has limited
8edibles containing THC to 5 milligrams per serving; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Citing the dramatic surge in vehicle crashes,
10increased THC levels, and a rise in diagnoses of psychosis
11linked to marijuana use, the Illinois State Medical Society
12supports capping THC levels at 10%; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
14HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we urge the Illinois General Assembly to cap THC levels in
16marijuana by placing limits on the amount of THC contained in
17retail products, placing limits on the amount of cannabis a
18retailer can sell to an individual in a single transaction or
19over a period of time based on the amount of THC contained, and
20implementing a seed-to-sale tracking system, allowing
21regulatory agencies to view every gram of legal cannabis as it
22migrates through the supply chain, including monitoring

 

 

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1ingredients added to cannabis that are eventually sold in
2retail stores.