After the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced the results of the Qualifying Applicant Lottery for 55 Conditional Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses (Conditional Licenses), from a pool of 626 unique applicants, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) issued the first round of adult use cannabis licenses established under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.

IDOA issued 32 initial Craft Grow licenses, 28 Infuser licenses, and 9 Transporter licenses. Additional applicants that received a Notice of Award for Craft Grow and Infuser licenses have requested and received an extension from IDOA to submit their licensing fee and other documents. IDOA will issue those licenses as the applicants submit the required paperwork.

Applicants who received notices of award for craft grow, infuser, or transporter licenses qualify as 83% Social Equity by ownership and 67% identify as nonwhite.

The current list of licensees is available here.

“As part of the administration’s ongoing work to establish a legal cannabis industry that reflects the diversity of Illinois, the state has created multiple avenues to entry to encourage participation in the industry,” said Senior Advisor to the Governor for Cannabis, Toi Hutchinson. “With the issuance of these first licenses, Illinois is expanding access to people and communities that were previously shut out. We look forward to seeing businesses get off the ground in the months ahead.”

“The Department is proud to issue the first round of adult use cannabis licenses in Illinois,” said Department of Agriculture Director, Jerry Costello. “Issuing these licenses is an important step forward not only for licensees, but also for the success of the Illinois cannabis industry. The Department will continue to partner with its licensees and other state partners to ensure that Illinois remains a national leader not only in safely and efficiently-regulated cannabis production, but also in creating an inclusive industry that looks like Illinois.”

On July 15, IDOA issued notification to applicants who are eligible to receive one of 213 total licenses: 40 craft grow, 32 infuser, and 141 transporter.

Pursuant to the CRTA, IDOA will also be issuing up to 60 additional craft grower and up to 60 additional infuser licenses before December 21, 2021.

Applicants who previously submitted applications for craft grower and infuser licenses that did not receive a Notice of Award may still be eligible to receive one of these additional licenses.

Before Conditional Licenses are issued, IDOA will initiate a review process to ensure applicants selected meet all statutorily required rules that must be fulfilled before a Conditional License can be issued.

Two additional lotteries are scheduled in the coming weeks for 130 additional Conditional Licenses.

At this time, IDOA is not accepting new applications for those additional licenses.

The lottery results may change as a result of court orders or administrative review.

The second lottery, the Social Equity Justice Involved Lottery, will be conducted by the Illinois Lottery on Thursday, August 5, 2021.

Last week, IDFPR announced the results of the Qualifying Applicant Lottery for 55 Conditional Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary Licenses (Conditional Licenses).

The Qualifying Applicant Lottery, with 17 BLS Region drawings, was conducted on July 29, 2021 for 55 Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses (“Conditional License”).

IDFPR’s announcement of this list is its final administration decision for the Qualifying Applicant Lottery under Section 15-175 of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (“Act”). The announced conditional licenses to be awarded may be subject to change as a result of court orders or administrative review.

For more Illinois cannabis news and reviews, click here.