Illinois Adult-Use Dispensary Lottery Paused – Additional Reviews of Applications to Occur
Despite Illinois’ best efforts in crafting its regulatory structure to provide meaningful opportunities for social equity applicants, attempts at adult-use dispensary license application grading resulted in a wave of problems for the State. As such, Illinois’ Governor, J.B. Prtizker, and the General Assembly halted the issuance of licenses in an effort to remain true to its idealized program. Rather than moving forward with its lottery, the State will provide an additional opportunity for adult-use dispensary applicants to be considered in the grading process.
In a press release, Governor Prtizker announced that the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), which oversees the issuance of dispensary licenses, will pause its lottery process in order to review each application previously received. Each of the applicants who did not receive the maximum score of 252 points during the initial review process should receive a deficiency letter from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR). This letter will include the applicant’s score and an explanation of where exhibits were determined to be deficient. After receiving these notices, applicants can either request a re-score from IDFPR or resubmit updated exhibits correcting the deficiencies.
After re-scoring all resubmitted applications, IDFPR will move forward with the lottery process to award adult-use licenses.
It is important to note that during this process, ownership, residency, or social equity status cannot be updated or changed.
IDFPR plans to contact all applicants with dates and information over the next few weeks. For additional information, visit the Illinois Cannabis Resource Site.
Seeking a qualified review of your application? Canna Business Services can help! Contact us to assist in making sure your Illinois adult-use dispensary application is ready to be resubmitted.
