Red state... Blue state... Looks like Illinois is turning into a GREEN state!
This week Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill allowing doctors to prescribe medical cannabis as an alternative to opioid painkillers. This bill is the next step in the state's fight against the opioid crisis threatening much of the country. Opioids claimed the lives of at least 2,100 people in Illinois last year.
The prescription will only be available to those over the age of 21.
"This creates an option to save lives, prevent pain, treat pain but in a way that does not lead to a destructive addiction of opioids," said Gov. Rauner.