Illinois Cannabis News

Illinois cannabis retailers recorded their second-highest sales month of the year in April, despite the ongoing pandemic.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois Gov. Pritzker has indefinitely pushed back the date for awarding the state’s social equity cannabis licenses.

Pamela Althoff is the Executive Director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, the state’s top cannabis industry trade organization, and a former state senator.

Cresco Labs announced it will start prioritizing recruiting new employees from the industries most significantly impacted by the coronavirus crisis.

While many states have chosen to let dispensaries stay open during the coronavirus crisis, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has announced the shutdown of adult-use sales.

An entrepreneurial Girl Scout troop sold 230 boxes of cookies over four hours outside of Chicago’s Dispensary33; the dispensary, which supported the cookie sales, has asked the troop to return for the rest of the month.

Western Illinois University has announced it will offer a minor in cannabis production including 18-19 credit hours and additional coursework from the department of biological sciences.

Activists in Chicago are pushing for the city to allow for cannabis “peddler’s permits,” which would enable cannabis sales in a similar manner to street food vendors.

Security cameras captured a traveler who had just arrived at Chicago’s Midway Airport as they searched through and pocketed cannabis products from one of the airport’s cannabis amnesty boxes.

An on-site consumption plan by Illinois Supply and Provisions in Springfield, Illinois has been approved by the city council; it’s the first time in the state that on-site cannabis consumption was approved by a municipality.

Tax rates on adult-use cannabis in Chicago could reach as high as 41 percent for high-potency products after local regulators approved an extra 3 percent tax on all cannabis retailers.

Cresco Labs in Chicago has opened the application period for the company’s community business incubator program called SEED, or Social Equity & Education Development.

One week after the launch of legal cannabis sales in the state, Illinois dispensaries are already low on products, forcing some to close and/or stop serving adult-use customers.

Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports have established so-called cannabis amnesty boxes for travelers who want to dispose of any adult-use products before heading through a security checkpoint.

The Brown County, Illinois Sheriff’s Office has reportedly made the state’s first cannabis arrest since the January 1 legalization launch date.

During the first day of legal sales in Illinois, dispensaries in the state generated nearly $3.2 million from cannabis.

As Illinois became the 11th state to legalize adult-use cannabis this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker also issued pardons for more than 11,000 cannabis convictions.

Illinois’ adult-use cannabis market launches today, January 1, 2020. It is the first state-legal cannabis market resulting from action by lawmakers, not the voters.

Ahead of the Illinois’ planned legalization roll-out in January, cannabis-related enforcement has reportedly dropped dramatically in the suburbs of Chicago.

A Chicago City Council committee has approved a measure to delay cannabis sales in the city until July 1 due to a lack of minority-owned dispensaries; the measure, however, must be approved by the full council and could still face a veto from the mayor.

Illinois lawmakers promised that patients will be given priority access to state-legal cannabis products once the legal market comes online; the notice was made in anticipation of product shortages immediately following legalization.

Evanston, Illinois has announced a plan to leverage adult-use cannabis taxes to provide financial assistance for minority communities who were most adversely affected by drug war policies.

Illinois officials have awarded the state’s first adult-use retailer licenses — 14 dispensaries received “same-site” licenses, meaning they will be allowed to open their existing medical cannabis stores to anyone 21+.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed major cannabis policy shifts for the city in light of the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Illinois, which is set to take effect January 1.