Written by Alyssa Sonnenburg

On January 1, 2020, the recreational use of marijuana for adults over the age of twenty-one officially became legal in the state of Illinois.

Proponents of the recreational use of marijuana are in the majority in America. In fact, a March 2024 Pew Research Center report polled U.S. adults for their opinions on the legalization of marijuana with these results:

An overwhelming share of U.S. adults (88%) say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use.

Nearly six in ten Americans (57%) say that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, while roughly a third (32%) say that marijuana should be legal for medical use only.

Just 11% of Americans say the drug should not be legal at all.

As the poll results show, only 11% of Americans disagree with the legalization of marijuana for any reason.

This begs the question, if so many Americans are in favor of legalized marijuana, is it really that dangerous?

Patrick Kenneally, a McHenry County State’s Attorney, believes so, and for good reason.

In the following presentation, Kenneally reports on the dangerous facts surrounding cannabis use.