Illinois has begun issuing new craft grow cannabis licenses, and a judge has authorized the state to hold a corrective lottery for dispensary applicants that filed lawsuits challenging the licensing process.
Proposed rules for the next round of dispensary license applicants, expected to be considered by a state agency this summer, appear to open the process to out-of-state and nonsocial equity applicants. Applicants could qualify through the prior social equity definition, though the new rules would eliminate what critics called the “slave” provision that allowed owners to qualify by hiring people from areas most impacted by the war on drugs.