ILLINOIS CANNABIS PROGRAM
ILLINOIS
STATE STATUS
The state of Illinois legalized both adult-use and medical cannabis. Persons 21 years and older may purchase and possess cannabis, while registered patients have access to medical cannabis. Access to cannabis is through state licensed businesses that are allowed to grow, manufacture and sell cannabis.
Learn more about how to get an Illinois cannabis business license or schedule a complimentary consultation with our licensing team, below.
Hemp
Yes
Medical Marijuana
Yes
Adult-Use
Yes
When To Apply
Closed
News
NUMBER OF ILLINOIS MARIJUANA BUSINESS LICENSES AVAILABLE
Adult-Use Marijuana Businesses in Illinois:
Illinois Adult-Use Cultivation License: can grow cannabis plants, dry, cure, package, process cannabis-infused products, and sell wholesale to other licensed Illinois cannabis businesses. A Cultivation center may contain up to 210,000 square feet of canopy space. There is a limit of 30 adult-use cultivation licenses allowed within the state. At this time, there are 21 licensed early approval adult-use cultivation centers. Early approval for adult use cultivation centers was reserved for existing medical cannabis cultivation licensees. Furthermore, the regulating department is not authorized to license any additional adult-use cultivation centers until July 1, 2021.
Illinois Craft Grower License: can grow cannabis plants, dry, cure, package, process cannabis-infused products, and sell wholesale to other licensed Illinois Cannabis Businesses. A craft grower may contain up to 5,000 square feet of canopy space on its premises for cultivating plants that are more than 5 inches tall. The number of craft-grower licenses shall not exceed 150 statewide. The state accepted applications from February – April 2020 to award 40 Craft Grower Licenses but suspended the announcements of the 40 successful applicants due to COVID-19. The 40 licenses were finally issued in August 2021. By December 21, 2021, the state will issue up to 60 additional cannabis craft grower licenses, leaving a remaining 50 craft grower licenses to be awarded when the state deems necessary.
Illinois Infuser License: can incorporate cannabis concentrates into cannabis-infused products. There are no state-wide limits on the number of infuser licenses, however, the state shall issue only 40 licenses in 2020 and 60 licenses in by Dec 2021. The state accepted applications from February – April 2020 to award 40 Infuser Licenses but suspended the announcements of the 40 successful applicants due to COVID-19. The 40 licenses were finally issued in August 2021. By December 21, 2021, the state will issue up to 60 additional cannabis infuser licenses.
Illinois Adult-Use Dispensary License: can purchase cannabis from licensed cultivation centers and infusers, and sell cannabis to persons 21 years and older. The number of adult-use dispensary licenses allowed statewide shall not exceed 500. Currently, over 40 existing medical cannabis dispensary licenses are approved to cater to the adult-use market. For new businesses, the state accepted applications in Jan 2020 to award up to 75 dispensary licenses by May 2020, however, only 21 applicants were chosen to proceed to the final phase: a lottery to award the dispensary licenses. Due to lawsuits filed against the state from applicants, the state ended up issuing a total of 185 dispensary licenses through 3 separate lotteries held from July – August 2021. The state plans to issue an additional 50 dispensary licenses in 2022.
There are state-wide limits for each type of marijuana business allowed to operate in Illinois. Currently, only adult-use marijuana business licenses are available. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued 55 conditional licenses under a new application process to be distributed across the existing 17 BLS Regions detailed in the CRTA. The application process for the conditional licenses opened in February 2023 and closed in April 2023.
Medical Marijuana Businesses in Illinois:
Illinois Medical Cannabis Cultivation: can grow cannabis plants, extract and manufacture cannabis-infused products, and sell wholesale to other licensed Illinois Medical Cannabis Businesses. There is a limit of 22 medical cannabis cultivation licenses allowed within the state. All 22 medical cannabis cultivation licenses were awarded in 2014, and the state is no longer issuing additional medical cannabis cultivation licenses in Illinois.
Illinois Medical Cannabis Dispensary: can purchase cannabis from licensed cultivation facilities and sell cannabis to qualifying patients with a valid medical marijuana card. There is a limit of 60 medical cannabis dispensary licenses allowed within the state. All 60 medical cannabis dispensary licenses were awarded in 2014, and the state is no longer issuing additional medical cannabis dispensary licenses in Illinois.
HOW TO START A MARIJUANA BUSINESS IN ILLINOIS
To operate a marijuana business in Illinois, you will need the following plans:
- Security Plan
- Environmental Impact Plan
- Quality Control and Quality Assurance Plan
- Business Plan
- Financial Plan
- Community Benefits Plan
- Research Plan
- Cultivation, Manufacturing and/or Dispensing Plan
- Labor Compliance Plan
- Staffing and Training Plan
Schedule for a complimentary 15-min consult with our licensing/application expert to learn more about how we may be able to assist you.
ILLINOIS MARIJUANA TIMELINE
2013 – Illinois legalized medical cannabis.
2015 – First Illinois medical cannabis businesses opened.
2019 – Illinois legalized adult-use cannabis.
Dec 2019 – Jan 2020 – Illinois accepts applications for dispensary licenses.
Feb – April 2020 – Illinois accepts applications for craft grower, infuser and transport licenses.
2021 – Illinois second licensing period of adult-use cannabis businesses.
By Dec 2021 – Department to award additional 60 additional Craft Grower Licenses, 60 additional Infuser Licenses, and an additional 110 Adult Use Dispensary Licenses.
2022 – Department plans to issue 55 additional conditional licenses
January 2023 – Application process opens for Social Equity Lottery Applicants
April 2023 – Application process closes for Social Equity Lottery Applicants
May 2023 – Social Equity Lottery is held to award licenses
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CONTACT US
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Arizona Vertically Integrated Facility Owner"Sara reduced much of the management team’s stress by her knowledge, execution, resolving conflicts, and firm but confident approach."
Chairman, Solevo Wellness"Sara’s success speaks for itself. Our company continues to engage Sara for ongoing consulting and her advice remains solid and relevant to our growth."
Owner, Firefly Dispensaries in Pennsylvania."Working with Sara was a pleasure. We don’t know how we would have gotten through the application process without her."
Arizona Vertically Integrated Facility Owner