SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) on Friday launched a statewide public awareness campaign and website with resources for health and safety information about legal cannabis use in Illinois.

LetsTalkCannabisIL.com includes information about legal cannabis use and resources regarding use. It provides health information for specific audiences, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, adults, parents and teenagers. A statewide social, digital and radio advertisement campaign will accompany the website. Downloadable fact sheets can be found on the site.

“Bringing regulation and safety to a previously unsafe and illegal market was one of the most important things we wanted to accomplish when legalizing adult-use cannabis,” said Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “Our focus of the “Let’s Talk Cannabis Illinois” campaign and website is to provide a trusted source for safety and health information where all residents can go to get their questions answered on safer cannabis use.”

Illinois has joined 10 other states in the legalization of non-medical cannabis. The new law outlines specific guidelines regarding the possession and consumption of non-medical cannabis use.

“It is extremely important that everyone knows the health implications of using cannabis,” said IDHS Secretary Grace B. Hou. “Our goal with the campaign is to provide clear and objective information to as many Illinois residents as we can. Because the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act built in funding for prevention and recovery services, IDHS will be able to expand awareness about safer use of cannabis and expand services for those with substance use disorders.”

The IDHS Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery partnered with Prevention First, an Illinois based non-profit that provides substance use prevention services, and Rescue, an award-winning agency that has developed similar campaigns for California and Vermont and is well known for developing public awareness campaigns, to launch LetsTalkCannabisIL.com.