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Lt. Governor One of the First in Line to Buy Marijuana Legally in Land of Lincoln

How’s that for an endorsement of the policy?!

The times, they are a’changing, sang Bob Dylan in what is arguably one of his most iconic lines.

And just how many times has that line been enjoyed while in the immediate vicinity of marijuana use?  The answer is likely innumerable and a bit unnecessary, but prophetic nonetheless.  Dylan was right in ways that many of us could never truly imagine, and the recent rise of legal weed in America is just one example of these shifting sands of time.

The latest US state to fully legalize recreational marijuana use is Illinois, in a move that is sure to take a bite out of the state’s egregious gang violence.

And, as if to reiterate the positive possibilities that come along with the end of pot prohibition, one of the first in line on legalization day was the state’s Lieutenant Governor.

Illinois Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton was one of the first to buy recreational marijuana after it became legal across the state Wednesday.

“I’m here to celebrate a big day in Illinois,” Stratton said as she paid for a tin of Mindy’s Edibles Glazed Clementine Orange Gummies at a Sunnyside dispensary, according to CBS Chicago.

Wednesday, the Democrat tweeted her thanks to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker for “ending prohibition and building a more equitable Illinois,”…

The Governor, while not explicitly enjoying the plant itself, did bask in the success of the legislation.

Tuesday, Pritzker granted over 11,000 pardons to individuals with low-level marijuana convictions just before the law took effect, according to the AP.

“We are ending the 50-year-long war on cannabis,” the Democrat said, adding, “We are restoring rights to many tens of thousands of Illinoisans. We are bringing regulation and safety to a previously unsafe and illegal market. And we are creating a new industry that puts equity at its very core.”

Illinois has become the eleventh state to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, and joins a vast majority of states that have some form of legal, medical, or decriminalized marijuana laws.

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