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June 25, 2019

Promo Products Opportunity: Illinois Legalizes Recreational Cannabis

Legalization could lead to opportunities to sell branded merchandise in the Prairie State’s nascent marijuana market.

By  Christopher Ruvo

With the stroke of a pen on Tuesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker legalized recreational use of marijuana by adults in the Prairie State – a move that could carry importance for the promotional products industry.

The Illinois Senate and House passed the bill in late May. Set to take effect Jan. 1, 2020, the law makes it legal for people 21 years of age and older to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis or 5 grams of cannabis concentrate. Adults will also be able to have 500 milligrams of THC in cannabis-infused products.

Perhaps most significantly for the promotional products industry, the law allows for the licensing of businesses focused on the cultivation and dispensing of recreational cannabis. While advertising restrictions will be in place, there could be some opportunity to sell such businesses logoed products that include everything from company apparel to items like wearables and various accessories that end-users could buy. As Counselor has previously reported, some cannabis brands in the U.S. are already capitalizing on the potential of retailable marijuana merch.

Top 40 distributor Quality Logo Products (asi/302967) is among the Illinois-based promo firms that see opportunity in the cannabis market. Bret Bonnet, the distributorship’s top executive, told Counselor that Quality Logo Products has advertised custom cannabis-related items for years now, as medical marijuana was already legal in Illinois. Bonnet doesn’t believe that there will initially be huge promo sales to reap in the nascent legal recreational cannabis business, but he does expect that momentum will accelerate.

“I imagine reception will be cool, and once social acceptance increases, we’ll begin to see more,” Bonnet told Counselor. “Cannabis is here to stay. It’s only a matter of time until it’s legal federally.”

Bret Bonnet, Quality Logo Products

Illinois’ law places restrictions on advertising, but does not appear to signal out promotional products/branded merchandise. Still, advertising can’t: be false or misleading; promote overconsumption of cannabis; depict consumption of actual cannabis; depict people under 21 consuming marijuana; make claims about health/medical benefits; include the image of a marijuana leaf or bud; or feature images that are designed to or are likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, toys and animals.

Also, cannabis businesses can’t encourage the sale of recreational marijuana by giving away cannabis or cannabis products; by holding games or competitions (think sweepstakes, contests, etc.) related to the consumption of cannabis; or by providing “promotional materials or activities of a manner or type that would be appealing to children.”

Illinois is the 11th state to legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults. Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Alaska, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont have also legalized.

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