The top marijuana official in Illinois, Toi Hutchinson, has left her state job to work for the national lobbying group that led the push to legalize cannabis in the state.
Hutchinson, who was Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s senior adviser for cannabis control, stepped down to become president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project, or MPP, which took credit for writing much of the legalization law in Illinois.
Hutchinson had been a state senator from Olympia Fields, representing the south suburbs, from 2009 to 2019. She worked with the MPP to write and pass the statute that legalized sale and possession of recreational cannabis for adults, which became effective in 2020.
Senator Heather A. Steans, Representative Kelly M. Cassidy, and Senator Toi W. Hutchinson, celebrate after Illinois Senate vote on a bill to legalize marijuana, May 29, 2019. (Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune)
Initially, Pritzker’s office announced that he had appointed her to become cannabis regulation oversight officer, informally dubbed as the pot czar.
But giving her the job created by legislation she voted on could have violated the state constitution. The constitution bars members of the General Assembly from being appointed to a public office created by state lawmakers in that same term.
Then Sen. Toi Hutchinson speaks, June 25, 2019, before Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill to legalize marijuana in Illinois starting in 2020. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
So when Hutchinson started work for the administration in November 2019, it was as senior adviser to the governor, with a salary of $220,000. Officials said she gave back campaign contributions she’d received from the cannabis industry.
Instead, Danielle Perry was appointed as cannabis regulation oversight officer to report to Hutchinson.
Whatever her title, cannabis legalization under Hutchinson has had mixed results..
Illinois was hailed for being the first state to implement pot legalization through legislation, and for provisions to erase low-level cannabis convictions, to invest in areas affected by poverty and high rates of incarceration for marijuana, and to promote minority ownership of weed businesses.
But the law had a fundamental flaw regarding minority ownership. It gave the existing white-dominated medical marijuana businesses a year’s head start in recreational sales, and a huge size advantage in growing the crop. In addition, due to limiting the number of growers and sellers, the Illinois market has experienced shortages and high prices.
Beyond that, implementation of the law has been widely seen as a disaster. After widespread complaints and litigation alleging that the license application scoring process was unfair and favored wealthy and connected investors, the administration delayed licensing for more than a year.
To make up for problems created by the original law, state lawmakers passed a new law that expanded the number of new licenses.
But now, two Cook County judges have held up the issuance of 185 new dispensary licenses and 60 craft grower permits, while litigation over the process grinds through the courts, which could take months or longer, further delaying any new entrepreneurs from entering the market.
Still, Hutchinson emphasized her accomplishments in office.
“I’m pleased to be joining the team at MPP, where I will continue my yearslong effort to develop and support cannabis legalization legislation that centers on equity and repairing the harms of the past,” Hutchinson said in a news release. “We are incredibly proud of the hard work and lessons learned in Illinois, standing up programs to invest in equity entrepreneurs, reinvesting in communities, and clearing hundreds of thousands of arrests and criminal records.”
Illinois’ top cannabis official Toi Hutchinson leaves post to head national pot lobbying group
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