Tuesday marked not only the start of Illinois’s inaugural High Times Cannabis Cup, but also a completely new iteration of the venerable event. For the first time ever, the general public will be judging the entries and deciding the winners, prompting eager marijuana enthusiasts to line up literally around the block to buy “judge kits.”
Read MoreGood news for those awaiting the issuance of cannabis dispensary licenses by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR): the department’s tiebreaking rules are now finalized, which clears what seems to be the last remaining hurdle before issuance. As we discussed previously, the IDFPR’s emergency rules for breaking ties on applicant scoring expired before the department was able to issue licenses. Without a tiebreaking mechanism in place, the IDFPR has not issued any of the 75 new dispensary licenses.
Read MoreAmid talks of a deep recession, social unrest, and the global pandemic, cannabis legalization continues to be a relevant topic in the United States. While COVID-19 hampered many cannabis legalization and decriminalization efforts in the short term, criminal justice reform and social equity remain a driving force that keeps cannabis legalization at the forefront; it has been top of mind in states such as Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Read MoreAs we arrive at the middle of June, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has not issued any conditional adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses and, as we recently wrote about here, it may be a while before the licenses are issued. Nevertheless, those licenses will be issued eventually, and it is important that cannabis entrepreneurs begin evaluating their next steps.
Read MoreMany in Illinois have been waiting with bated breath for the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to issue new (conditional) adult use cannabis dispensary licenses and it appears that wait may not end anytime soon. By way of background, under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, an ambitious and precedent-setting social equity centered piece of legislation, these license were to be issued before May 1, 2020.
Read MoreIn early January, Illinois received thousands of applications for adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses. Only 75 of those applications will be granted a license…eventually. Although the Illinois Cannabis Tax and Regulation Act (the Act) required the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to issue the licenses before May 1, 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker and the IDFPR have delayed their issuance indefinitely due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.
Read MoreAs we previously discussed on our blog (here, here, and here), the cannabis industry, like most industries, is facing challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, recreational marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts were not deemed to be essential businesses and were therefore required to close under the state’s emergency order.
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