llinois’ legalization of recreational marijuana in 2020 was supposed to be a course corrective on the lopsided implementation of the war on drugs — an opportunity for Black people who were disproportionally prosecuted and imprisoned for drug-related crimes to get in on the ground floor of the legal cannabis industry.

Giving Black and Brown people the opportunity was a priority for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and he has considered it a crowning achievement — the state released a study last year showing that 60% of cannabis dispensary licenses went to businesses owned by minorities or women.

Owners of the competing hemp industry now say Pritzker is trying to uplift the cannabis industry by killing theirs.

Samuel Wilson, owner of the Prohibition THC Cafe, said getting the required state cannabis licensing was too difficult.

Though the state set social equity criteria intended to give those most impacted by the war on drugs an upper hand, applying was still expensive and competitive, with only a fraction of those vying for a dispensary license winning one.

Since the initial adult-use cannabis licenses were awarded, the ownership field has narrowed, with multi-state companies buying smaller shops.

“The barriers for the cannabis industry are pretty obvious,” Wilson said. “When you set very high entry amounts that’s needed, it automatically puts out small business and essentially Black people. Open up the door for the billionaires and the rich people to pretty much monopolize the industry. So ultimately the same people who benefitted off of the prison industrial system are now capable of accessing the legal weed industry and ultimately just keeping us as consumers.”

Some entrepreneurs found a workaround.

Instead of selling marijuana, they could legally sell weed-adjacent products without a state license.

The federal government lifted restrictions on hemp as part of the 2018 farm bill, paving the way for cannabis-derived products containing .3% of less of the intoxicating component THC — be it lotions, potions, infused drinks or candies.

“In 2018, when (then U.S. Senate Majority Leader) Sen. Mitch McConnell spoke about a bipartisan bill to legalize hemp, he spoke about invigorating farming. Small business. Innovation,” said Wilson, who is also spokesman for the Illinois Black Hemp Association. “That’s exactly what this group stands for.”

Wilson, surrounded by other Black owners of hemp businesses at a Thursday news conference, said hemp products personally helped him after he spent decades as a firefighter and paramedic.

Making it into a business was “an opportunity to create generational wealth in the Black community,” Wilson said.

“Unfortunately, now, that dream is in jeopardy,” Wilson said. “Because the American dream is under attack. And it’s under attack by our billionaire governor.”

Pritzker in December publicly announced he wanted legislators in their January lame duck session to pass a controversial measure regulating hemp on the state level.

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Read More: Pritzker Endorses Bill That Would Impose New Regulations on State’s Hemp Industry

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The governor said his priority is safety, with the proposal’s purpose to “protect children and families and adults and the people of Illinois from very unsafe, intoxicating hemp products that are sold without regard to the age of the purchaser, without regard to the ingredients that are inside those packages, that are being sold at convenience stores and at gas stations, and that we already have seen children go to the hospital for, and adults, too.”

Some entrepreneurs have used synthetic means to manipulate hemp into products like delta-8, which may strictly follow the federal definition but also have amplified intoxicating effects.

Other companies have designed their packaging in lookalike ways that could appeal or fool consumers — especially youth — for example, selling a bag of candy that could be mistaken for a bag of Skittles, were not for a keen reading of the label.

Pritzker has since doubled down on the proposal, despite the Illinois House adjourning without taking it up after House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said it didn’t have support from enough Democrats.

That led to a much-ballyhooed dustup involving Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who’d worked against the bill, and Welch, whom Pritzker blamed for not calling the measure for a vote even though the governor said with Republicans on board it would have had enough support to pass.

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Read More: Pritzker, Johnson Clash Over Hemp Regulation as Bill Stalls in Springfield

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“This is about consumer safety and health,” Pritzker said earlier this month, adding that he was “tremendously disappointed” in the measure’s stalling because of “special interests and the money that they spread around to thwart (the) health and safety of the public.”

But many in the hemp industry said not everyone in the hemp space uses deceitful and dangerous practices, and that Pritzker’s approach will kill their responsible businesses along with the bad actors.

Many in the hemp industry also argue that the motivation of the legislation is to protect the cannabis industry.

Businesses that have state licenses to legally grow and sell cannabis pay a price for the privilege and have to comply with strict — and costly — standards, from security to testing. And because cannabis is not legal on the federal level, they also have to work around banking limitations.

Cannabis is getting undercut by cheaper and more prevalent hemp, with little to no state or federal oversight.

The cannabis industry also bemoaned the legislature’s failure to adopt the plan Pritzker likes.

The director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, Tiffany Chappell Ingram, issued a statement in early January calling the proposal “common sense” in that it would regulate “hemp consumer products such as CBD” while banning the “dangerous” offshoots like delta-8.

“Without action, the unregulated intoxicating hemp market will continue to operate with no rules or regulations guiding the production or sale of these products,” Chappell Ingram said. “This leaves consumers at risk and undermines the state’s carefully regulated cannabis market, particularly social equity cannabis license holders who face extensive rules and regulations while those selling intoxicating hemp continue to get off easy.”

But businesses that make and sell hemp products said the cannabis industry is just looking out for itself and seeking to use a state law to kill the competition.

“Right now,” Wilson said, “their goal is to destroy and monopolize. Our goal is to have a seat at the table to speak about safety and the concerns of the public. If we can get a seat at the table, we’ll be able to have a conversion (about) how this industry can benefit the state of Illinois with jobs and a vibrant industry.”

The Illinois Black Hemp Association also wants regulation, including standards for packaging, third-party testing and a limitation that bans anyone under 21 from buying intoxicating hemp.

Other hemp businesses have advocated for similar regulations, though those also haven’t succeeded in Springfield.

Asked Wednesday about where he stands, Pritzker said he will push for movement as a new class of legislators begin their work.

In a potential sign of compromise or recognition of the opponents, he seemed to indicate an openness to altering the legislation, though.

“This legislation — and there may be changes to what was proposed — needs to protect children and adults from products that are not regulated by anybody,” Pritzker said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, the FDA said it was OK, but this other agency doesn’t.’ So you’re not only in danger of getting THC levels that are far beyond what are regulated in the cannabis industry, but also you’re in danger of getting other toxic materials in these products.”

Pritzker also called on the federal government to regulate hemp.