Overview
- By a 10–6 vote, the City Council’s License and Consumer Protection Committee advanced Ald. Marty Quinn’s ordinance to prohibit sales of intoxicating hemp products outside state-licensed cannabis dispensaries.
- If enacted, the citywide ban would take effect within 10 days, carry fines up to $5,000 per violation, and leave dispensaries as the only legal retail channel.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration opposes a blanket ban and instead pushes age-21 limits, testing and labeling standards, citing enforcement challenges, potential loss of about $10 million in revenue, and harm to thousands of jobs.
- Quinn said he will not call the measure for a final vote until he has the 26 votes needed, making timing uncertain despite the next scheduled council meeting on Dec. 10.
- The local push comes as a new federal law redefines legal hemp with a 0.4 mg total-THC per package cap set for enforcement in November 2026, a change industry groups say would remove most current hemp-derived products from the market.