After more than two years of delays from a pandemic, multiple lawsuits, flawed implementation of new government programs, and more, the court-ordered “stay” on the 185 Illinois adult-use cannabis licenses was finally lifted Friday morning.

Cook County Judge Michael Mullen announced in court today that the previous two orders of stays “have been lifted” and that the license lottery winners will now be able to proceed without any further legal restrictions.

The court-ordered stays, imposed in July and August 2021, forced license winners to hold off on opening any stores until the court case brought by the WAH Group was resolved. Earlier in the week, the WAH Group motioned to not extend its court case after the prefect rescoring of the WAH Group’s application. The WAH Group has since received its lottery license.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation can now legally transfer licenses to all 185 lottery winners. Applications for the licenses were first filed in January 2020 and scheduled to be awarded in April 2020. Since then, all lottery applicants have been waiting for the myriad licensing delays. Click here for a latest list of license applicants.

The IDFPR also applauded the new development in a press release stating that the Circuit Court of Cook County has lifted the stays that enjoined 185 Conditional Adult Use Cannabis Dispensing Organization Licenses to applicants selected in three lotteries in 2021.

According to the press release, “In anticipation of receiving further guidance in a related federal case, IDFPR anticipates releasing detailed information on next steps for applicants as soon as that guidance is issued. The federal case concerns objections to the state’s residency requirements for dispensary owners.”

“Today is a key development towards our ultimate goal of creating the most diverse, inclusive, and robust adult use cannabis industry of any state in the country,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “We stand ready to swiftly move forward in ensuring Illinois’ standing as a national leader in the advancement of cannabis equity.”

To ensure fairness for all applicants and correct any errors in the lottery process, IDFPR also is working on finalizing plans for three corrective lotteries to be held in June (one for each of the cannabis dispensary license lotteries held in 2021).

Details on those lotteries will be announced by the Department when finalized. Those updates will be available on IDFPR’s Adult Use Cannabis Program webpage.

For more Illinois cannabis industry news, click here.

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