OUR STORY

The story of Illinois Cannabis Training Center, Inc. begins with Lamar Richardson.

Lamar was born and raised in Chicago and grew up in the Cabrini Green neighborhood in the 1960s. He joined the Air Force and served in Vietnam. It was during this horrific war where he first began to realize the calming and healing benefits of cannabis.

But time spent serving his country would not keep him shielded from the early days of the war on drugs. In 1973, just five-days after returning to Chicago from Vietnam, Lamar was arrested for cannabis possession.

With resourcefulness, he was able to access expungement services to get his record cleared early on.

Lamar became a well-known Chicago business owner and community leader. As O’Hare’s first Black air traffic controller and the founder of 8 successful businesses and nonprofit ventures (including a nightclub that has been in business for 45 years!), Lamar has lived the importance of leading the way.

In honor of Lamar’s many years of service to the community, the City of Bellwood renamed a portion of St. Charles Road to “Richardson Drive” in 2004.