I don’t brew beer or grow marijuana. I can count on two hands (and maybe a foot) the number of beers I drink in a year and need no digits to tally the amount of cannabis I consume.
Still, as a person of logic, the differences between how Illinois regulates beer and pot never really clicked.
This thought is courtesy of the state Department of Agriculture proposing a change allowing commercial marijuana producers to grow their plants outside (where plants generally live) rather than the current standard of keeping them inside “enclosed, locked” facilities.
These outdoor farms wouldn’t exactly feel agrarian. Per the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules: “Cultivation centers and craft growers may grow if the outdoor area is fully enclosed by a continuous physical barrier that is at least 8 feet high; constructed of chain link and topped with razor wire or other security wire along the entire length; screened or covered so that the outdoor cultivation area is not within ordinary public view from nearby streets or roads; and secured by an access point or gate with the same security standards as the barrier and a method of controlling access.”
Frustration comes from seeing no movement on the home-grow front. Right now, to legally grow a marijuana plant at your Illinois home, you must be registered for medicinal use, can only grow five plants and it all has to be inside.
Meanwhile, according to the American Homebrewers Association, since 2013, any Illinois household with a resident of legal drinking age has been allowed to produce up to 100 gallons of beer each year. A second adult moves the limit to 200. (That’s 1,600 pints, or more than 2,133 12-ounce beers.) None of it can be sold, and anything more requires a license.
Also, it doesn’t seem to matter if the beer is brewed indoors or out in the yard, but that’s not the wedge issue.
Homeowner associations or entire municipalities may have rules about where we can plant things – think about utility easements, property lines and visibility for pedestrians and vehicles – but the state doesn’t tell anyone they can’t grow basil on the back porch or cultivate and can their own tomatoes.
Like marijuana, home-grown tobacco also is taboo, so there is at least a little ideological consistency. But speaking as someone with even less interest in cigarettes or cigars than marijuana or THC, what’s the point of living in such a crop-friendly region if folks can’t make honest use of the soil, sun and rain?
The answer (as usual) is the government’s substantial interest in taxes and fees.
As with beer, a reasonable compromise is available in the highly unlikely event government officials find the motivation.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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August 22, 2026 at 10:06AM
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