Earlier today, Chicago’s City Council voted 32-16 to prohibit the sale of most hemp-derived products. Hemp-infused beverages, pet products, topicals, and other CBD products were exempt from the ban.

Hemp-derived THC drinks will still be allowed to be sold at bars, restaurants, and stores with liquor licenses. Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) condemned the measure: “It’s all being digested, but it’s legal if you drink it with a straw, and it’s illegal if you chew it with your mouth. I can’t square that.”

“The legislation passed today was written hastily and without any input from the hemp industry who is actually affected by the legislation,” said Craig Katz of Illinois Healthy Alternatives Association. “It does little to protect children but does allow bigger profits for big beverages, big cannabis, and the restaurant industry.”

Marty Quinn, 13th Ward (Southwest Side) Ald., championed the hemp ban.

“I’m getting calls from parents about this product being peddled to kids,” Quinn said. “That’s the argument, protecting kids versus protecting an industry that you want to regulate and tax.”

“We have repeatedly tried to talk to Alderman Quinn to work with him to get responsible regulation,” Katz said. “He would not talk to representatives from the industry he is destroying, but he has met again and again with the industries that he is enriching.”

Illinois Hemp Business Association Director Charles Wu said the ordinance came down to economic favoritism for the cannabis and alcohol industry over the burgeoning hemp industry. Wu owns Chi’Tiva hemp lounges in Wicker Park and the South Loop.

“I am not here asking for special treatment. I am asking for clear rules, consistent enforcement, and a path to compliance that applies equally to everyone,” Wu said during public comments.

Wu continued, “If intoxication is the concern, that concern does not disappear in a beverage. If safety is the concern, banning storefronts that are 21-and-up only, that card, and rigorously test their products, makes no sense.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson did not indicate whether he would veto the ban.

“I continue to have concerns about this measure,” Johnson said. “When you make something illegal, you create a black market, making the sale completely unregulated and uncontrolled.”

Quinn acknowledged that 34 votes to override the veto might be tough to achieve.

“Bans don’t discourage people from seeking these products,” said Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd). “They just put them in the black market. They are still going to be accessible. You are not necessarily protecting children just because you ban something.”

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