After a yearlong delay, Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued three additional Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses to applicants selected in lotteries held in the summer of 2021. These awardees join the 182 conditional licenses issued in July and early August. All 185 available licenses from the original round of licenses have now been issued.

According to the announcement, “This historic milestone is the result of Illinois cannabis policy that puts equity at the forefront, prioritizing communities who were specifically targeted by the War on Drugs. All businesses selected qualify as Social Equity Applicants under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, and the list of today’s awardees along with 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.

The announcement continued, “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.”

“I am pleased the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation fulfilled its statutory requirement and issued these 185 conditional dispensary licenses,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “The release of these remaining licenses means ownership of cannabis dispensaries in Illinois is now more inclusive and diverse than ever before, and we look forward to taking the next steps together to continue implementing the most equitable cannabis program in the country.”

The full list of licensees is available on the IDFPR website. The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act also authorizes the IDFPR to issue additional licenses in 2022 and future years. Applications for those licensing rounds are not yet available.

“Illinois is a pioneer, leading the way in cannabis legalization that is equity-centered,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “With all 185 conditional licenses now in the hands of social equity applicants, we have reached a tremendous milestone. Now, we look forward to getting these businesses up and running, creating jobs in the communities most harmed by the failed drug war, and cementing ownership in Illinois’ cannabis industry as the most diverse in the nation.”

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