Jurisdiction: Illinois
Not So Blind Item – The IDFPR is in a Pickle Over Its Tiebreaker Rule
Many 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 MoreYou Won an Illinois Dispensary License, Now What?
In 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 MoreCoronavirus Fallout: April Recreational Sales Rise in Some States, Decline in Others
As 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.
Read MoreUnionization Efforts Expand to Illinois’s Retail Cannabis Market
Unionization has been a hot topic in the Illinois cannabis market for some time now. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 881 recently won a vote to unionize Cresco’s Joliet cultivation facility. The Teamsters lost a similar vote to unionize Green Thumb’s Rock Island cultivation facility.
Read MoreCoalition Confirms Community Conscious Commitment From Cannabis Company
According to a press release issued yesterday, the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition signed what is believed to be a first-in-the-nation Community Benefits Agreement with a cannabis operator attempting to open a new dispensary in Chicago. The operator, Nature’s Care Company, is currently seeking approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Chicago, which has the power to grant a special use permit that is required to open a state-licensed cannabis business.
Read MoreRocky Mountain Marijuana Sales Continue to Climb
Marijuana sales in Colorado totaled nearly $1.75 billion in 2019 according to data released by the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. The $1,747,990,628 in sales includes both recreational and medical marijuana and is a sizeable increase from 2018, when sales totaled $1,545,691,080.
Read MoreLeafly Jobs Report 2020: Cannabis Jobs Continue to Grow
Last Friday, Leafly released its latest annual jobs report and the numbers are encouraging. Leafly reports that the legal cannabis industry supports 243,700 full-time-equivalent jobs as of January 2020. That number grew by 33,700 new jobs over the past 12 months, which makes legal cannabis the fastest-growing industry in the United States.
Read More
