Illinois Archives - Page 3 of 15 - Cannabis Business Executive - Cannabis and Marijuana industry news

Cook County judge says ‘it’s very possible’ pot shop licensing process will have to be ‘redone’

“Everybody then would be subject to just another application process or another lottery, who knows what,” said Judge Moshe Jacobius, who has already held up the formal issuance of the next round of lucrative dispensary permits. A Cook County judge…

Some Illinois pot license winners now looking to sell to highest bidder

State law doesn’t prohibit the new licensees from unloading for millions of dollars and potentially “giving it away to the white boys again,” one critic said. The applicants waited for more than a year for a chance to jump into…

New cannabis licensees in Illinois face David vs. Goliath fight against industry giants

As Illinois begins to award much-delayed cannabis business licenses, the new business owners will face a long uphill climb. They’ll be pitting mom-and-pop startups against giant companies that have had a five-year head start to take control of the market.…

53 pot shop lottery winners announced, including some new players, some with deep ties to existing industry

The winners include Ricky Hendon, the former state senator who had served as an advocate for jilted applicants last year. His company, Westside Visionaries LLC, scored a highly sought after license in a region that covers Chicago. Following a year…

Illinois weed sales remain strong at near-record $116 million in June

Recreational marijuana sales remain strong in Illinois, with a near-record $115.6 million in sales for June. The totals, reported Thursday by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, are down slightly from the record $116.4 million worth of recreational cannabis products…

Bill Creating New Marijuana Dispensary Licenses Clears Illinois House

Legislation revamping the state’s system for awarding marijuana dispensary licenses passed the House on Tuesday. The measure is meant to address shortcomings in the 2019 Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, specifically in regard to a license lottery that was delayed…

Illinois to Record $1 Billion Marijuana Sales by Year’s End, Surpassing Liquor

llinois is set to record more than $1 billion in sales of adult-use marijuana products this year, with first quarter cannabis tax revenue already surpassing that of alcohol. The state of Illinois, whose lawmakers are eyeing bankruptcy options amid a…

New cannabis stores, marijuana tours, and protecting pets from pot on Illinois legislative agenda, but social equity remains a big issue

Plans to create 150 new marijuana stores, allow cannabis tours and make it a crime to get a pet sick from pot are among proposals Illinois lawmakers are expected to consider this spring. The proposed legislation comes as the state’s…

Illinois’ ex-pot regulators, pols are cashing in on the exploding industry. A proposed crackdown won’t stop all of them.

A year after recreational pot sales kicked off in Illinois, legalization has been a boon for the few multimillion-dollar companies granted permission to grow and sell weed and a windfall for local and state governments strapped for cash. But it’s…

Illinois is on pace to sell over $1 billion in marijuana this year. Here are the February totals.

The second year of recreational marijuana sales in Illinois is off to a fast start. Through February, the state generated nearly $170 million in recreational sales, more than double the total from the first two months of 2020, according to the…

Big money and a big stumble mark first year of Illinois’ recreational weed law

January 27, 2021
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A year after legalization, social equity remains a pipe dream. CHICAGO — Illinois’ coffers have enjoyed a boost in tax revenue approaching the amount generated by booze sales thanks to the year that recreational marijuana has been legal there. But…

Illinois’ First-Year Legal Marijuana Sales Boomed, But Challenges Remain

January 21, 2021
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The line outside the Metro East’s first recreational marijuana dispensary was already long hours before it opened for the first time last January. Hundreds of people packed themselves into a tight metal maze that could barely contain the growing crowd at Ascend in Collinsville.…

Illinois sitting on $62 million in cannabis revenue meant to foster businesses and help neighborhoods hurt by poverty and violence

January 16, 2021
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Despite promises that cannabis legalization in Illinois would fund more minority business participation and neighborhood improvements, the state has yet to spend $62 million collected for those purposes. Part of the delay in awarding the money is due to problems…

Illinois starts new year by expunging nearly 500,000 marijuana arrest records

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said in an announcement hours before the start of the new year that his state had expunged nearly 500,000 marijuana-related convictions. The move follows Pritzker signing legislation in 2019 legalizing recreational marijuana use in the…

First year of legal marijuana in Illinois generated big bucks but no new minority license holders

Cannifem represents much of what state lawmakers hoped for when they legalized marijuana in Illinois. The startup business was formed by three Black women from areas hardest hit by the war on drugs. Yet the group failed to get any…