Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoes ordinance restricting Chicago hemp sales

Mayor Brandon Johnson has vetoed an ordinance passed by aldermen earlier this year outlawing unlicensed businesses in Chicago from selling most hemp products.

That means unless aldermen can override it, sales of CBD and hemp-derived THC products will continue and stakeholders will have to return to the negotiating table to try to hammer out a new deal.

The ordinance outlawed unlicensed businesses from selling all but a handful of hemp products starting April 1. It passed in a 32-16 vote in January despite concerns from critics that it would hurt small businesses — producers and convenience stores alike — and foster a black market for products. It would take 34 votes to override Johnson.

“I continue to have significant concerns around the current proposal and the potential negative impacts this prohibition-style ban could have on our city,” Johnson said in a veto letter sent to council members Friday afternoon.

“I want to be clear: I share the concerns raised about intoxicating hemp products, especially when it comes to packaging that may appeal to children or sales practices that lack proper safeguards. We must have strict age verification, responsible labeling, and clear enforcement standards,” his letter said. “There must be zero tolerance for businesses that market or sell these products to minors.”

Ald. Marty Quinn led the charge for the ban and said his priority was to keep children “protected and safe” from the products, which are sometimes packaged to look like popular candy.

Cannabis companies also supported a crackdown, complaining it undercut their sales. While marijuana products are tightly regulated, they argued, hemp-derived products were not despite the fact they often contain THC that gets users high.

Under the ban, topicals and animal products could still be sold, along with hemp drinks sold at bars, restaurants and liquor stores.

Both entrepreneurs who make hemp products and small stores that sell the goods have been opposed to the ban. Johnson’s administration previously estimated wholesale prohibition would affect 10,000 jobs and ding sales tax collections, also warning that the city could not adequately enforce it.

It was premature for the city to act, Johnson argued Friday, given a looming federal ban on many hemp-derived topicals, gummies and drinks this coming November.

“The most responsible path forward for the City’s hemp regulation is to align with the forthcoming federal guidance, rather than acting prematurely in a rapidly shifting regulatory landscape,” Johnson’s official veto notification to Clerk Anna Valencia’s office read in part. “With preliminary federal rules forthcoming, it is essential that the City position itself to respond coherently once national standards are clarified.”

Johnson also said equity concerns were part of his decision, as many minority entrepreneurs were shut out of the state’s lucrative cannabis industry.

“The ordinance protects some establishments at the expense of many of our small businesses who have been following the law and deserve to have a seat at the table. Many of these businesses are Black- and brown-owned,” Johnson’s letter to council members said. “We cannot claim to support equitable economic development while advancing policies that concentrate the market in the hands of a few large entities.”

His veto will be recorded at the next City Council meeting on Feb. 18.