Press Release - Friday, August 12, 2022
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Pritzker Administration Issues Third Wave of Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses
CHICAGO — Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) today issued five additional Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses to applicants selected in lotteries held in the summer of 2021. These awardees join the 177 conditional licenses issued by the Administration in July, bringing the total number of issued licenses to 182 (of 185 available licenses).
All businesses qualify as Social Equity Applicants under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act. The list of today's awardees and the next steps for the conditional license period are available on the IDFPR's Adult Use Cannabis webpage.
Of the businesses selected through the lottery, 41% are majority Black-owned, 7% are majority White-owned, and 4% are majority Latino-owned, while 38% of awardees did not disclose the race of their owners. To date, Illinois has made and executed the greatest commitment of adult use cannabis tax revenue to community reinvestment, expunged the most criminal history records involving cannabis, and has the highest rate of minority ownership of any state reporting/collecting ownership demographic data in the country.
"Illinois was the first state to include strong equity provisions in our legalizing statute, and the diversity of our new dispensary owners is further proof that prioritizing equity is not only possible, but makes our industry and our communities stronger," said Governor JB Pritzker. "Each new conditional license represents an opportunity not only for economic growth in Illinois, but to better the lives of countless individuals and communities harmed by the war on drugs."
At this time, only three of the 185 conditional adult use dispensary licenses remain to be issued by IDFPR. The Department is waiting for additional or updated documents from entities that did not receive conditional licenses today. IDFPR anticipates processing the remaining conditional licenses as quickly as possible over the coming weeks once those documents are received and approved.
All businesses awarded Conditional Licenses will have 180 days to select a physical storefront location and obtain the full Adult Use Dispensing Organization License (the full list of criteria to be met may be found here). If a Conditional Licensee is unable to find a suitable physical location within the 180-day period, they may request an extension of 180 days. Once issued an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a business may begin purchasing and dispensing adult use cannabis.
"With more than 98% of conditional licenses issued, Illinois is well on track to more than double the number adult use cannabis dispensaries in Illinois and create countless new opportunities for people across the state," said Mario Treto, Jr., Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. "These new licenses will help ensure Illinois continues to set the stage as the most robust and diverse cannabis industry of any state in the country."
Through a separate program administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the State of Illinois offers low-interest loans to qualified licensed companies through its Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program. The first round of social equity license applicants are expected to finalize loan agreements directly with DCEO's partner lending institutions in the coming weeks. The next phase of the loan program will be launched in the near future. Additional information about the Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program can be found here..
DCEO also funds free licensing and post-licensing technical assistance through their partners at Oakton Community College, The Trep School, the Women's Business Development Center, and the University of Illinois Chicago Law School. Additional information on these resources and how to access them can be found here.
The full list of licensees is available on the Department's website.
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