In January 2020, Illinois became the 11th state to legalize marijuana. Although the Illinois General Assembly passed the HB1438 legalizing recreational cannabis use and sale in the state for adults on June 25, the new law went into effect on January 1, 2020.

This means that you can legally buy weed in Chicago and other cities of Illinois if you’re 21 or older.

With a well-developed medical marijuana program, Illinois is quickly becoming a role model for other states that are considering legalization within their borders.

In this article, you’ll learn everything you need to know about cannabis laws in Chicago, including both medical and recreational laws, as well as where to buy high-quality weed in the city.

Is Weed Legal In Chicago?

Yes, both cannabis is legal in Chicago for both medical and recreational use.

You need to be aged 21 and over to buy weed from one of the state-licensed dispensaries and can purchase up to 30 grams of marijuana flower at a time.

Continue reading for a detailed breakdown of both medical and recreational weed laws in Chicago.

Recreational Marijuana In Chicago

• Adults can buy up to 30 grams, or about one ounce, of marijuana flower, edibles totaling more than 500 mg of THC, and five grams of concentrated cannabis products.
• If you’re not an Illinois resident, you can buy half those amounts.
• Cannabis-infused products with less than 35% THC are subject to a 10% tax from the purchase price
• Cannabis-infused products with more than 35% THC are taxed at 20%.
• Marijuana strains with more than 35% THC is taxed at 25%.
• Recreational consumers CAN’T grow their own weed
• Marijuana consumption is limited to private residences unless local jurisdictions decide otherwise.
• On January 1, the only entities allowed to sell marijuana for recreational consumers will be the currently operating medical dispensaries and cultivators until new licenses are handed. The state should start this process on March 15, 2020, with the first license being issued on May 2020.
• People who have been convicted of possession of under 30 grams prior to legalization have the right to have their records referred to the Prisoner Review Board and Governor Pritzker for pardon. The State’s Attorney office has stated that they will expunge all misdemeanor marijuana convictions once weed becomes legal.

Medical Marijuana In Chicago

Qualified patients and designated caregivers can purchase and possess up to 2 ½ ounces of cannabis per 14-day period. There are currently 39,808 registered patients, as estimated by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

In order to qualify for medical marijuana treatment, a person must suffer from one of the following conditions:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Anorexia nervosa
• “Any medical condition for which an opioid has been or could be prescribed by a physician based on generally accepted standards of care”
• Arnold Chiari malformation
• Autism
• Cachexia/wasting syndrome
• Cancer
• Causalgia
• Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
• Chronic pain
• Complex regional pain syndrome type 2
• Crohn’s Disease
• Dystonia
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
• Fibromyalgia
• Fibrous dysplasia
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis C
• HIV/AIDS
• Hydrocephalus
• Hydromyelia
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Lupus
• Migraines
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Myoclonus
• Nail patella syndrome
• Neuro-Behcet’s autoimmune disease
• Neurofibromatosis
• Neuropathy
• Osteoarthritis
• Parkinson’s disease
• Polycystic kidney disease
• Post-traumatic stress
• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Sjogren’s syndrome
• Spinal cord disease
• Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
• Superior canal dehiscence syndrome
• Syringomyelia
• Tarlov cysts
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome
• Ulcerative colitis

A registered patient may grow up to five mature cannabis plants if they don’t want to purchase from a medical dispensary.

Where To Buy Weed In Chicago

As the capital city of Illinois, Chicago is home to many places where you can buy high-quality weed. Like we said, at the moment, you can only buy weed from a medical dispensary and nowhere else. Retail stores won’t open until May 1st, 2020, but when the licenses are issued, you can expect a plethora of recreational dispensaries to pop up in the city.

List of Chicago Medical Marijuana Dispensaries:

5 Best Cannabis Dispensaries in Chicago

In this section, we share the top 5 places to buy weed in Chicago according to online reviews.

1. Dispensary33

5001 N. Clark St.

Dispensary33 opens at 6 am Monday to Sunday, selling dry flower, pre-rolled joints, edibles, concentrates, vape pens, and plenty of other options. You can browse their products online using the menu of their website.

At peak hours, Dispensary33 uses a paging system similar to what busy restaurants employ in their spaces. They have an official waiting room with a Dark Matter coffee pop-up with a movie marathon.

2. NuMed Chicago

1308 W. North Ave.

NuMed is open from 8 am to 7 pm from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays). The dispensary sells strain-specific cannabis buds, oils, edibles, beverages, and pre-rolled joints along with CBN and CBD-infused products. NuMed has yet to bring their full recreational menu to their website.

3. Midway Dispensary

5648 S Archer Ave.

Midway is currently the best dispensary when it comes to the selection of marijuana cartridges, which makes it an ideal place for vaping enthusiasts. On top of their vapes, the guys at Midway sell edibles, topicals, and even THC-infused bath bombs. Their full menu is available online.

4. Sunnyside Dispensary

3812 N. Clark St.

Sunnyside Dispensary is working Monday–Sunday from 6 am to 10 pm. The place sells cannabis flower, pre-rolled joints, and vape pens — and they have a huge selection of edibles, including birthday cake, apple cinnamon cereal, and blackberry lemonade. dispensary chicago

5. Modern Cannabis

2847 W. Fullerton Ave.

Modern Cannabis specializes in selling various cannabis strains as well as CBD- and CBN-infused flowers, tinctures, concentrates, edibles, and oils. The dispensary also has an impressive selection of topicals, including lotions, paincreams, anal suppositories, epsom bath salts, and more.dispensary chicago

Where To Buy Weed Online In Chicago?

Buying weed online is a trending topic. There’s been a rapid rise in the number of searches for “buy weed in the Chicago area” over the last 12 months, which makes for 25 searches per day and about 100 people searching for weed online daily.

There’s no doubt that Chicago has the potential to grow strong in online weed delivery businesses, but for now, the privilege of running one belongs only to medical marijuana patients.

If you have a medical marijuana card, you can either pre-order weed online and pick it up at a dispensary near you, or you can actually have it delivered to your door.

Recreational online weed sale is against the law in Chicago, although this looks like a transition stage, considering that country-wide cannabis sales are expected to hit $57 billion by 2027. Online ordering and weed delivery in Illinois would benefit both customers and the economy alike.dispensary chicago

How Do I Order Weed Online?

First, you need to check with your local dispensary to find out whether it offers delivery services for patients. If this is the case, we suggest that you use this option instead of buying your weed locally in Chicago. You’ll save time on waiting in long queues, and potential disappointment due to stock sell-outs and lack of choices. With only 9 dispensaries open to serve the city’s entire adult population, you can dispensary chicago expect these sell-outs to happen in no time.

Final Thoughts On Buying Weed In Chicago

If you want to buy weed in Chicago, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that weed is now legal for recreational use in Illinois, so both Chicago residents and tourists can enjoy their herb without having to worry about being arrested.

It’s legal to possess, consume, and buy cannabis as well as cannabis-infused goods from one of the state-licensed dispensaries.

Now, here’s the catch. There are ONLY nine dispensaries in Chicago so far, with more to enter the market in May 2020. Until then, the operating dispensaries will either have to supply themselves with massive amounts of flowers and products to meet the demand, or the government will need to start issuing licenses faster than promised. Otherwise, Illinois may start running low on weed in a very short time.

Those looking for online weed purchases need to apply for a medical marijuana card if they want to buy their products in Chicago this way. Recreational sales are yet to open — but we don’t know the exact date. dispensary chicago

What are your favorite dispensaries to buy weed in Chicago?