The Illinois Department of Agriculture and Division of Cannabis Regulation (IDOA-DCR) today released a bulletin providing guidance to assist licensees with the uniform application of cannabis waste and green waste destruction regulations.

All cultivation centers, craft growers, or infusers shall provide notice, at least 7 days in advance, to IDOA-DCR and the Illinois State Police of when product disposal actions will occur. Licensees may provide the IDOA-DCR with multiple recurring scheduled disposal periods as long as the Department has notice 7 days in advance of destruction activity (i.e. a licensee can establish every Tuesday and Thursday as a disposal period). Once the recurring notice has been provided, the 7-day notice requirement has been satisfied. Product may be disposed of during any notified disposal period as long as it was held for at least 72 hours prior to destruction, properly entered into Metrc, and the following information is provided to the Department by email, 72 hours in advance.

IDOA-DCR is updating that cultivation centers and craft growers may submit an Application for Alteration outlining a plan to dispose of certain types of green waste (e.g., undried plant material) without the 72-hour hold. This waste must first be entered into Metrc, and licensees should clearly specify the types of green waste intended for destruction in their application. For example, a cultivation center and/or craft grower may submit an Alteration Application that proposes destruction of plant stalks either during or immediately following a harvest action. Upon application approval, Cultivation Centers and/or Craft Growers may destroy green waste / plant stalks right away, as long as the destruction activity is entered into Metrc.

For questions related to this Compliance Alert, please contact the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Division of Cannabis, Bureau of Inspections by emailing AGR.CannabisInspections@Illinois.gov.