Illinois Sen. Adriane Johnson introduced today Senate Bill 3480, which would “adopt rules to create a registration process for Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity Licenses to sell cannabis,” define “Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity License,” and provide that the Illinois General Assembly recognizes that Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity License dispensaries have been inadvertently placed at a “competitive disadvantage.”

The first of the three added amendments in SB3480 includes the following: “The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall adopt rules to create a registration process for Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity Licenses, as defined in the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, to sell cannabis under this Act. The registration process shall be available to all Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity Licenses within 30 days of the issuance of the Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity License.”

The second of the three amendments defines “Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity License” as “a license issued by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to a Qualified Social Equity Applicant with current Ownership and Control that permits a person to act as a dispensing organization under this Act and any administrative rule made in furtherance of this Act and the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act.”

The final amendment includes the following: “The General Assembly also finds and recognizes that the dispensaries established under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act enacted in 2014 have inadvertently placed those dispensaries with an Adult Use Dispensing Organization Social Equity License at a competitive disadvantage. This competitive imbalance stems primarily from the established dispensaries’ existing market presence and their capacity to sell cannabis to a well-established medical patient base at lower prices, a benefit derived from the exemption of certain taxes applicable to medical cannabis sales.”

SB3480 was referred to Assignments after its first reading. For more Illinois cannabis industry news, visit here.

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