By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed $117 million fiscal year 2020 budget for the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) includes $8 million for its anticipated recreational marijuana program.

Meanwhile, a newly released study promoted by state Senate Democrats suggests the current number of licensed pot cultivation centers will not be able to grow enough cannabis to meet anticipated demand, once legalization comes to the Land of Lincoln.

Pritzker, a Democrat who swept to victory in the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial race over incumbent Bruce Rauner, made recreational marijuana legalization for adults part of his platform, saying the state is missing out on millions of dollars in tax revenue compared with others that have approved legalization.

“I would rather the state tax it and regulate it than deny the reality of its use and accessibility,” he said in his late-February budget speech.

Just days after his budget address, state lawmakers sponsoring legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis in Illinois released the results of a study showing that demand is likely to far exceed what the state’s existing licensed growers – which currently supply Illinois’ medicinal marijuana pilot program – will be able to produce.

Commissioned by Sen. Heather Stearns (D-District 7) and Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-District 14), the study found that demand could rise by as much as 550,000 pounds of cannabis per year, and that existing cultivation centers can supply only between 35-54 percent of expected demand.

Using that estimate, the consulting firm hired to conduct the study, Freedman and Koski, concluded Illinois could expect between $444,000-$670,000 annually from increased demand, not including the excise tax placed on cannabis cultivators. The study cautions that while initial regulatory costs will keep legal prices above black-market prices, within a few years initial regulatory costs will decrease and the regulated market will capture or displace the illicit market.

“While we should not expect cannabis sales to be a one-stop solution to Illinois’ financial woes, it is encouraging to see evidence that we are on the brink of establishing a thriving, robust industry to meet the demands of many Illinoisans who have until now been turning to the criminal market,” said Stearns.

“Prohibition does not work, and legalizing adult-use cannabis will bring those sales into the light and meet an obvious demand among the people of our state.”

Cassidy, the bill’s House sponsor, said additional licensing categories such as craft cultivation, transportation, and processing are being considered to “ensure that everyone is at the table. These will create space for more innovation and entrepreneurship in the industry.”

What remains unclear is if there will be room at the table for farmers – particularly in southern Illinois, where the growing season is a little longer and the weather a little warmer – to diversify into marijuana production. Cursory inquiries into the topic failed to shed any light on the question.

“At this point the department is not in a position to comment until legislation regarding adult use of recreational cannabis has been finalized,” said Morgan Booth, public information officer for the IDOA.

In addition, after an initial acknowledgement, no one responded to similar inquiries submitted to the Illinois Farm Bureau. However, during their annual policy-setting meeting in December, IFB delegates voted not to support adult-use pot legalization.

“There was a submittal that the organization should not have an opposed position to (legalization). That was debated quite a bit by the delegate body. And at the end of the day, what was put in place for our policy book is that we would maintain an opposed position to recreational cannabis,” said Mark Gebhards, IFB executive director of governmental affairs and commodities.

“In the event that it is legalized as we move forward with this next legislative session, then the delegate body wants to make sure that it is regulated and taxed accordingly.”