Lawmakers push for hearings on Illinois hemp industry NBC Chicago [Video]

Local lawmakers are pushing for hearings on Illinois’ hemp industry next month, highlighting a push for further regulation and more emphasis on social equity in the business.

Chicago Ald. William Hall said Thursday that he will be seeking a public subject hearing on hemp shortly after the new year.

“Hemp is legal. Hemp is not the issue. It is the bad players that are the issues,” Hall said at a City Hall news conference.

He pointed to a recent incident in Rogers Park where a number of students required hospitalization after consuming a hemp gummy.

“Any time you have children five, six, seven years old who can go to a gas station or just a shop to get this, that’s unacceptable,” Hall said.

The announcement comes as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is slated to announce a crackdown Friday on delta-8 THC, a largely unregulated psychoactive compound that is often found …