Waukegan, IL Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

City Code § 15-3 folds Waukegan's cannabis rules together with its general controlled-substances ban. Subsection (b) makes it unlawful to possess cannabis beyond the limits the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act allows, to carry any cannabis on a school bus or the grounds of a preschool, primary, or secondary school (absent a registered medical-cannabis exemption), or to keep cannabis in a vehicle unless it sits in a reasonably secured, sealed container that's inaccessible while the vehicle is moving. Subsection (c) bars anyone under 21 from possessing any cannabis at all, again unless they hold a valid medical-cannabis card.

' The same subsection separately bans using cannabis near school grounds or a school bus, using it 'in close physical proximity' to anyone under 21 who isn't a registered patient, and smoking cannabis anywhere the Smoke-Free Illinois Act already prohibits smoking. Section 15-3(e) also folds in a blanket cross-reference to state drug law, so any public cannabis use that would violate the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act itself doubles as a separate city violation, giving Waukegan police two overlapping charges to work with for the same conduct.