Marijuana promoters are putting forward their best foot to make Illinois the 9th state nationwide and the first in the Midwest to legalize recreational pot. The advocates argued that this move would eventually help solve the ongoing budget crisis.

Last week, two of the state’s lawmakers legalized residents of age 21 or more to grow, buy or possess up to 28 grams (an ounce) of marijuana. The licensed businesses are allowed to sell marijuana products, but as per the state’s regulations. This move, according to the advocates, would help Illinois with $350 – $700 million as tax revenue to fill its multibillion-dollar budget hole.

The Marijuana Policy Project (a national advocacy group) gathered some data based on the proposal. The proposal allocates 50 percent of wholesale revenues for Illinois’ general fund and then it splits the remaining half as 20/30 between public health and education.

Till date, every state that has legalized the use or recreational marijuana has conducted a voter ballot initiative, said Chris Lindsey, legislative analyst associated with the project. It is not just Illinois advocates who are hoping for the approval of their proposal; 17 other states are also considering the legislative action

Representative Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who co-sponsored the 2014 legislation that legalized the use of medical marijuana in the state of Illinois, is currently sponsoring the given proposal in the House. Kelly said the states that have legalized marijuana are seeing an economic boom from the increased tax revenue, bolstered tourism, and new jobs.

“We’re talking about all sorts of ways of raising revenue,” Kelly said, referring to the efforts made by the state lawmakers to break a 2-year budget logjam. She further added, “We might as well be talking about this, too.”

However, she and Sen. Steans, who had sponsored the legislation last year and had succeeded in legalizing the possession of some amounts of pot, know that their new pitch is a tough one. They plan to meet up with lawmakers, public, and interested groups this spring. However, they plan not to move the legislation forward this session.

The main players like the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police are currently against the proposal. The association’s director, Mr. Ed Wojcicki calls legalizing recreational pot as “an enforcement nightmare”.

The Democratic Representative Lou Lang (Skokie) leads the medical marijuana proposal. He recommended that the staggered timeline of the proposal could help the lawmakers get a clear picture of the consequences and potential benefits of the proposal.

“I do think this might be in Illinois’ future,” Lang said. “I certainly support the idea of having a discussion.”