CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced Tuesday that applications for adult use cannabis licenses for new dispensing organizations are now available. Applications for new dispensing organizations can be found on the Department’s website.
The applications will be accepted by the department starting on December 10, 2019 and must be submitted by 12:00 p.m. on January 2, 2020. Applications will start being reviewed following the January 2nd deadline, with seventy-five conditional adult use dispensing organization licenses awarded by May 1, 2020.
“As Illinois enters the next phase of its adult use cannabis program, we are committed to a process that is efficient, timely and most critically, continues to place equity at the forefront,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “From ensuring social equity applicants receive points on their application to providing grants and technical assistance, this is a process that does more than any other state in the nation to make equity a priority.”
“We’re committed to ensuring that this process is transparent, fair and accessible to people from all communities in Illinois,” said Deborah Hagan, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “Our Department understands the important role it plays in ensuring all applicants have an opportunity to become involved in this industry and we will continue to work with our partner agencies to ensure applicants have the information they need.”
Social equity applicants will receive points on their application and are eligible to receive technical assistance, grants, low-interest loans and fee reductions and waivers. To qualify as a social equity applicant, the statute requires the applicant to be an Illinois resident and meet one of the following criteria:
A. At least 51% ownership and control by one or
more individuals who have resided at least 5 of the preceding 10 years in a
disproportionately impacted area;
B. At least 51% ownership and control by one or more individuals [or family
member of an individual] who have been arrested for, convicted of, or
adjudicated delinquent for an offense that is eligible for cannabis
expungement; or
C. Applicants with minimum of 10 full-time employees, at least 51% of employees
who:
• Currently reside in a disproportionately
impacted area; or
• Have been arrested for, convicted of, or adjudicated delinquent for an
offense that is eligible for cannabis expungement, or is a member of an
impacted family.
Once IDFPR awards a conditional license, the applicant has 180 days to find a
location within its Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Region to operate. That
location cannot be within 1,500 feet of another licensed dispensing
organization. A map reflecting how many licenses will be granted in each BLS region
can be found below.
The Department of Commerce and Economic Development announced Monday which areas meet the definition of disproportionately impacted area. View the map here.
