Mr. President, it’s time to take the next step on marijuana.
I spent 15 years in the NFL, including some of the best and toughest years of my life with the Chicago Bears. Football gave me incredible memories and the honor of helping bring a Super Bowl championship to this city. But like so many players, it also left me with scars you can’t see and pain I still carry.
For years, I was prescribed opioids and other pharmaceuticals. They dulled my body but clouded my mind. Marijuana was different. It gave me relief, helped me function and did it without destroying me in the process. That’s why I’ve been speaking out about marijuana for more than a decade, because I know firsthand how powerful and healing this plant can be.
Illinois has been a national leader. Medical cannabis was legalized in 2013 and its recreational use for adults in 2019. Sales topped $2 billion last year, funding social equity, community reinvestment and responsible businesses. But at the federal level, cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug, alongside heroin, as a substance that has “no accepted medical use.” That is flat-out wrong.
Rescheduling cannabis as a Schedule III drug would not legalize it nationwide — states like Illinois would still set their own rules. But it would:
Open the door to research. Scientists are currently blocked by red tape from studying marijuana meaningfully.
Treat cannabis like medicine. Schedule III acknowledges what millions already know: Cannabis has legitimate therapeutic value.
Help responsible businesses. Companies could deduct normal business expenses, reinvesting in communities and employees.
Make communities safer. Responsible regulation reduces reliance on the illicit market and lowers arrests for minor possession. In Illinois suburbs, arrests dropped 63% to 80% after initial reforms.
Illinois has shown the benefits of smart cannabis policy: Fewer arrests, more jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenue, all while giving patients a safer, regulated alternative. But progress is limited while federal law lags.
Mr. President, nearly 70% of Americans support legalizing marijuana, and 40 states, including Illinois, allow medical use. Rescheduling is not radical. It’s common sense. Marijuana gave me my life back. It can do the same for veterans, patients and families nationwide.
Here in Chicago, I’ll always be remembered for being on the historic ’85 Bears team. But through my work with Project Champion — a bipartisan organization dedicated to legalizing cannabis — I’m committed to leaving a legacy that ensures the next generation has safer options.
Mr. President, rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III is the right move for research, for patients, for public safety and for the future. You have the ball. Run with it.
Jim McMahon, Scottsdale, Arizona
Don’t end tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans
There’s a preventable crisis brewing in Washington, D.C., that could easily be treated if Congress truly wants to support the health and well-being of Americans. The physicians of the Illinois State Medical Society implore Congress to extend the enhanced premium tax credits for the Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
These subsidies have helped expand health insurance coverage for millions of Americans, including 550,000 of our fellow residents in the state of Illinois. About 90% received the tax credits to help lower the cost of monthly payments. If Congress fails to pass the extension, health care insurance will likely be unaffordable for many of the plans offered through the federal exchange.
Illinois State Medical Society members care about this issue because it immediately impacts our patients, as well as physicians and health care facilities. Without proper health insurance, patients may delay or skip medical care. That means when individuals show up in the emergency department (because that’s where people without health insurance go), they will be sicker. It puts a burden on physician practices and health care facilities when people do not have health insurance through no fault of their own — we all pay for it.
Congress can fix this potential crisis by extending the tax credits for federal exchange plans before the end of the year. Contact Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and your U.S. representative to let them know you support taking care of your neighbor in need of affordable health insurance.
Richard C. Anderson, MD, president, Illinois State Medical Society
Bizarre Border Patrol
The U.S. Border Patrol is operating boats in the Chicago River.
We are several hundred miles from any U.S. border. Isn’t Chicago outside the jurisdiction of the Border Patrol?
Michael Blane, Logan Square
Sticking with the shade
Because of my Italian heritage, I was forced to close the pool early this year. Too much of a tan, and I could be racially profiled as an innocent hardworking immigrant.
Richard Orrico, Melrose Park
Very few actually want free speech
Conservatives advocate for freedom of speech, then censor speech and ideas that might make them “offended.” Progressives advocate for freedom of speech, then censor speech and ideas that might make them “offended.” Very few actually believe in true freedom of speech, because that would mean freedom for all people, not just for “us.”
People are hypocrites.
David G. Whiteis, Humboldt Park
A safer TikTok?
How TikTok will end up being owned/governed has me wondering if American users will feel safer having our personal information and online activity likely accessible to right-leaning billionaire tech moguls as opposed to Chinese government operatives.