Business
Illinois Officials Approve More Dispensaries To Sell Medical Marijuana As Part Of The ‘Biggest Expansion’ Of The State’s Market In A Decade
Illinois officials have issued new licenses to 37 existing recreational marijuana dispensaries that will now allow them to also sell medical cannabis.
The expanded opportunity for marijuana businesses comes as part of omnibus cannabis legislation that was passed by lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker (D) this session.
Last month, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) posted a new form that adult-use marijuana dispensaries can fill out in order to get permission to begin selling medical cannabis, which is taxed at a much lower rate than adult-use products.
IDFPR said in a press release on Thursday that the new move “greatly increases patient access across the state, while also eliminating unnecessary red tape for regulators and consumers alike.” It additionally gives newer dispensaries approved under social equity lotteries the chance to serve medical patients, “leveling the playing field for small businesses.”
“Expanding access to medical cannabis is an important step toward ensuring Illinois patients have more options to obtain the medicine they rely on,” Mario Treto, Jr., secretary of IDFPR, said. “More dispensaries means better options and increased convenience for medical patients, while still maintaining the regulatory safeguards that protect patients and promote a safe and responsible cannabis industry.”
Erin A. Johnson, the state’s cannabis regulation oversight officer, said “this is a monumental day for medical patients, who have long advocated for these changes.”
The news of the state’s approval of the new medical cannabis licenses was first reported by The Cole Memo. Additional licenses will be issued on a continuing basis, officials said.
The recently enacted law that allows the new medical licenses also doubles the amount of marijuana that adults can legally possess, allows drive-thrus and curbside pickups at dispensaries and lets them stay open for longer hours of operation, among other changes.
It is the “biggest expansion of the medical cannabis market in Illinois since 2016,” IDFPR said.
Rep. Bob Morgan (D), who championed the recently enacted marijuana bill, said that “expanding the number of dispensaries able to serve medical cannabis patients is good policy for Illinois.”
“It means patients have greater access and more choices, while dispensaries have new opportunities to grow their businesses and better serve their communities,” he said. This is an important step toward building a stronger, more accessible medical cannabis program in Illinois.”
IDFPR said in previously issued guidance about changes made by the new cannabis omnibus legislation that “any adult use dispensary holding an active license in good standing may opt-in for a medical dispensary license,” which will allow it to “sell cannabis to medical cannabis patients at the medical tax rate up to the medical patient’s allotment.”
The medical cannabis sales option for adult-use businesses is part of SB 3222, which was approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker (D) in June.
As enacted into law, the measure also allows residents of the state who are over 21 years of age to possess up to 60 grams of marijuana flower—double the amount in prior law. They are also able to have up to 10 grams of cannabis concentrates and infused products with up to 1,000 mg of THC—also double the earlier limit. Possession amounts for adult non-residents are also doubled under the bill and are generally set at half of what residents can carry.
Additionally, people with past convictions for possession of up to 60 grams of marijuana are now able to have those records expunged—double the previous cutoff allowing only those with convictions for up to 30 grams to be eligible.
The legislation also recriminalizes hemp THC products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, in line with a federal ban that is set to take effect in November.
The state’s list of medical marijuana qualifying conditions was also expanded to add female orgasmic disorder, endometriosis, ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids by the bill.
Last month, Illinois regulators separately added sickle cell disease and polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) with chronic pain as new medical cannabis qualifying conditions.
The governor held a signing ceremony for the cannabis expansion legislation at a marijuana dispensary, saying he is “proud that Illinois continues to lead the nation in showing what thoughtful, balanced cannabis policy can achieve.”
In 2019, Pritzker signed the state’s initial marijuana legalization policy into law.
