Cook County Jail Celebrates 4/20, Serves Edibles to Inmates with Low-Level Drug Offenses

By Patrick Reilly

CHICAGO, IL - In celebration of the annual weed-based holiday, Cook County Jail has announced they will serve baked goods containing cannabis to the inmates currently incarcerated for low-level drug offenses.

“Pot-addicts have always joked about ‘4/20’ as the best time and date for consuming cannabis,” explained Thomas J. Dart, Cook County Sheriff. “And since recreational consumption is legal in this state now, the inmates might appreciate some little treats laced with the very substance that got them arrested in the first place.”

In the first year alone of legalized cannabis, there were nearly 3,000 new arrests for possession in Chicago, with 77% of those new inmates being African American. “Huh, that’s weird,” Dart mused as he went around the jail dispensing brownies and lollipops infused with up to 500 miligrams of THC.

The edibles program began when State’s Attorney Kim Foxx noticed the calming effect of the drug on some of her staffers. “Many of the young workers at my North-side office would rave about how mellow and relaxed they felt after a few joints. I figured, maybe if more people took cannabis, they wouldn’t end up in our jails for crimes like possessing a small amount of marijuana.”

Sheriff Dart eagerly hopes the prisons program is only the beginning of the state's partnership with the cannabis industry. "We hope by 2023 to start bringing taxes on marijuana sales to help bolster the budget of our state's woefully underfunded police forces."