Law Illinois MMJ

[Baron23]

Legal marijuana in Illinois causing someone to break the law

When Illinois legalized marijuana for recreational use, it ended several decades of marijuana prohibition all across the state. This is a good thing for most cannabis-loving Illinois residents. But that doesn’t mean cannabis enthusiasts are all of a sudden free to do just anything they want with weed. There are rules, though some are confused about what it means to be in a state where marijuana is no longer under a total ban

It was just over the weekend that Illinois State Police caught a couple of dudes traveling in a motor home packed down with marijuana. Not a little bit, mind you. These guys had 600 pounds of the green stuff, according to a report from NBC-affiliate WPSD. There is little doubt they were up to no good. Allegedly, the cannabis was on its was to California for distribution on the black market. This has been happening all across the country, especially in legal states. Many customers don’t want to pay the high tax rates associated with the legal market. Instead, they opt to continue buying their weed from street dealers.

However, the two men are in deep trouble for even having that much weed. While cannabis is legal in those parts, the law only applies to small amounts. Adults 21 and older may possess up to 30 grams of weed in the Land of Lincoln. Anything over is considered outlaw shenanigans, and it will get a person arrested and tossed in the slammer. In this case, these two fools are now facing charges for felony possession with intent to deliver. The outcome probably won’t be good.

Perhaps another misunderstanding of the law is that it’s now acceptable in Illinois to sell weed (even to minors) without catching some heat from law enforcement. Not only is this untrue, but it can sometimes get a school put on lockdown. A recent report from Patch indicates that a 22-year-old man was arrested last week after police discovered illegal vape cartridges and between 30 and 100 grams of weed in his home. The cops made the bust, which prompted a short lockdown of a high school across the street, after receiving tips that this guy was selling marijuana to the students.

This type of behavior is also a huge no-no in Illinois and every other legal state across the nation. In fact, one of the arguments made by cannabis advocates is that legalization is one way to keep marijuana from falling into the hands of minors. So, selling weed without a license, especially to underage kids, is a sure-fire way to end up with the cops beating down your door. And even though this dealer wasn’t actually caught selling drugs to students, the police did find enough weed in his house to charge him with unlawful possession. If convicted, he could see up to a year in jail and fines reaching $2,500. Had he been caught selling on school property, though, the punishment would have been more severe.

Illinois’ law on marijuana is clear. Adult residents 21 and older can possess up to 30 grams of weed, while adults from out of state are allowed half of that. Only licensed dispensaries can sell marijuana, and only medical marijuana patients (those enrolled in the state’s program) have permission to grow it. Anyone breaking these rules will undoubtedly continue to feel the wrath of prohibition past.

 

[momofthegoons]

Earlier this month I posted about what happens with the weed in the amnesty boxes at O'Hare and Midway airports... well I guess we know now...lol...

Man Steals Weed From Cannabis Amnesty Box At Midway Airport, Gets Away
The boxes were installed at both city airports after recreational weed was legalized Jan. 1 because it's still illegal to fly with it.

CHICAGO — Weed was stolen from an amnesty box at Midway Airport, apparently by a traveler who reached in, grabbed it and left the airport.

The large blue boxes are meant to be safe spots where travelers can permanently give up their weed or other drugs before boarding a flight. They were installed shortly after Illinois legalized cannabis on Jan. 1 since traveling with the drug remains illegal.

A man left marijuana in one of the boxes on Wednesday, according to NBC5, but when police returned later to empty the box the weed was gone.

Police said the theft happened at 6:03 p.m. Wednesday: A man reached into one of the temporary amnesty boxes and removed “an unknown object” from inside.

Police think the man had just gotten off a flight and left the airport after the theft, according to NBC5. The station reported officials weren’t sure how the man accessed the box since it was supposed to be locked.

There are 12 temporary boxes at Midway and O’Hare airports, but they’ll soon be replaced with permanent boxes.

“Tampering with them, or attempting to remove anything placed inside, is a crime, and detectives are investigating this matter,” said Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “In the meantime, new, permanent theft prevention boxes are expected to replace the temporary ones in the coming weeks, making them more secure and preventing anyone from further accessing materials dropped inside.”

Photos of the boxes were shared widely on social media after they were installed earlier this month. Many poked fun at them, questioning who would leave behind their drugs while traveling.

“A waste of metal,” comedian Hannibal Buress commented on Instagram.

“TSA tip jar,” another person joked.

At the time, police said officers will inventory the boxes, file reports on the items found inside and then dispose of the drugs.

 

[Squiby]

“TSA tip jar,” another person joked.

It's sort of like the courtesy "Leave a penny, take a penny" bowls at some cash counters. Deposit your pot when leaving on a plane and then help yourself when you arrive. A community pot dispensary. It's a brave new world.

 

[Baron23]

It's sort of like the courtesy "Leave a penny, take a penny" bowls at some cash counters. Deposit your pot when leaving on a plane and then help yourself when you arrive. A community pot dispensary. It's a brave new world.

Perfect analogy. Now, if we can only get the cops to agree! haha

Really, loved it. LOL

 

[Baron23]

Illinois marijuana stores told to let medical patients buy more than recreational customers under new state guidelines


Marijuana stores should take concrete steps to prioritize medical patients over recreational customers, state regulators said Friday.

Cannabis dispensaries should keep one sales window open for medical patients, may not reserve products for recreational customers, and must allow medical patients to buy up to 2.5 times any limit they set on recreational products, under new state guidelines.

The advisory from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation came following complaints from patients that they have not been able to get their usual specific products because of shortages caused by recreational sales which started this year.

State law had already required pot shops to “prioritize” medical patients and caregivers, but had not given these specific measures.

The law already allows medical patients to buy up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks, rather than the one ounce allowed at any one time to recreational customers. But because of shortages, shops have been setting their own limits on purchases, such as one-eighth an ounce of flower, the smokable part of the plant. Under the new guidelines, shops must let medical patients buy 2.5 times as much as any limit they set for recreational customers.

Customers line up outside before dawn on the first day of Illinois recreational marijuana sales, Jan. 1, 2020 at Sunnyside Lakeview. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

In addition, shops generally let patients bypass the sometimes hourslong lines for recreational customers, and provide parking and advanced online ordering for medical patients only.

The added specifics from regulators may further encourage people to seek certification as a medical patient.

Almost 100,000 people had been approved as medical patients as of last month, a number which nearly doubled last year as the state greatly expanded the list of qualifying conditions to include common conditions such as chronic pain and arthritis.

Medical sales also nearly doubled to more than $27 million a month in December, the most recent month reported, compared to $39 million in the first month of recreational sales in January.

While growers must pay a 7% wholesale tax on all products, medical patients avoid the special sales taxes of 10% to 25% placed on recreational pot. But medical patients must pay a doctor’s certification fee that can run about $300, plus a standard license fee of $100 for one year, or $250 for three years.

 

[Baron23]

"Medical sales can now continue until 10 p.m."

Yeah, but you can get that next pint of Lord Calvert whiskey all day and night.

Illinois extends medical marijuana sales hours amid pressure

Illinois officials are allowing medical marijuana businesses to stay open later amid complaints that users have been at a disadvantage since a new state law allowing recreational sales took effect this year.

The department also reminded retailers to prioritize medical cannabis patients during product shortages in a separate statement released last week.

Problems due to limited supply have been widespread, leading some dispensaries to limit the amount of product people can purchase and to cut back on their business hours. The law broadly permitting adults to purchase and use marijuana products took effect Jan. 1.

The statement said dispensaries can’t designate products only for recreational customers to purchase. It also said retailers limiting the amount of marijuana that customers can purchase should use higher caps for medical marijuana customers than for recreational.

Illinois previously cut off sales of medical marijuana at 8 p.m., while other sales were allowed until 10 p.m. Medical sales can now continue until 10 p.m., the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation said Friday.

“Our department will continue working to ensure patients receive the level of service they have come to expect from our medical cannabis program,” Secretary Deborah Hagan said.

 

[Baron23]

Illinois: Frustrated with shortages, medical marijuana patients begin growing their own at home

Worried by widespread shortages of products at Illinois cannabis stores, medical marijuana patient David Kurfman took matters into his own hands. He started growing his own.
Having suffered from epilepsy most of his life, Kurfman uses medical cannabis to control his seizures without debilitating prescription drugs. But like many medical patients, Kurfman can’t take just any cannabis. He says he needs oils containing CBD, the cannabis component that prevents seizures, in a 2-to-1 ratio with THC, the part that gets users high.
Under the new state law, medical marijuana patients may grow up to five plants each at home. Kurfman said he spent $5,000 to build a deluxe grow room in the basement of his downstate home, outfitting it with lights, fans and separate compartments. He now tends a small garden of thriving, 3-foot high plants.

David Kurfman works with marijuana seedlings in his basement grow room. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
“There’s a statewide shortage of all products, and patients are suffering from that,” Kurfman said. “I hope to transition to growing my own medicine.”
Kurfman is part of a community of medical cannabis users who have started making their own medicine in response to the shortages. They’re part of a small but decades-old underground movement of home growers that is coming out of the shadows now that it’s been legalized in Illinois.
The new law allows medical cannabis patients 21 and over to grow up to five plants in an “enclosed, locked space.” The growing space must be in a residential building with sleeping quarters and indoor plumbing, or a greenhouse or shed on the site, as long as it’s out of public view. Landlords may still ban growing pot on their property.
The patient may keep any amount produced by the plant, as long as it’s secured in the home where it was grown, but it remains illegal to sell or give away cannabis from one’s plants. Lawmakers originally proposed letting all adults grow pot for recreational use, but that provision was deleted after police and commercial growers raised objections. Most other states that have legalized recreational marijuana do allow the public to grow at home.

David Kurfman transplants seedlings to bigger pots at his home in Mount Sterling, Illinois. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
In Illinois, law provides for patients to buy their seeds from licensed dispensaries. But patients say dispensaries are not selling seeds, and licensed cultivators say they don’t grow seeds because they sap energy from the buds, and are considered waste that would have to be cleaned out of the final product. Instead, professional growers generally use female plants generated from small cuttings from mother plants, known as clones. Home growers may use clones as well, once they have their plants established, but generally must start with seeds.
The law legalizing medical pot, which saw sales begin in 2015, never specified where commercial cultivators were to get their original seeds or plants, and federal law prohibits transporting seeds or plants across state lines. That left growers to perform a so-called unexplained immaculate conception as to how they started their crops.
Now home growers are faced with a similar situation. Most resort to buying from any of the many seed banks found online. Though buying marijuana seeds and growing them remains a violation of federal law, the amounts are so small and hard to detect that police rarely go after home growers unless they are manufacturing large amounts to deal it illegally, as has happened frequently in other states, such as California and Colorado.
To address the impasse, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration is developing rules for seed sales.
“The administration is working with various state agencies, cultivators and dispensaries to develop a clear process that will allow the sale of seeds to medicinal users,” spokeswoman Charity Greene wrote in an email.

David Kurfman cuts clones from a bigger plant in his basement grow room. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
For now, growers are educating each other online, through groups such as the Illinois Medical Cannabis Review Guide, which lists recommended seed banks.
Getting started can cost next to nothing, if one has free access to plants or seeds and a greenhouse. But growers say that the average indoor growing operation can cost hundreds of dollars, and requires five to 10 hours of work a week.
Cultivators and online sources, such as Fremont College or Leafly, describe growing plants to maturity as generally taking three to six months. Each seed grows through four distinct stages, from germination to seedling, vegetative and flowering. Each stage is an opportunity to enhance or screw up the process.



Basic equipment includes a clean, dry, dark space such as a closet, basement or a mylar growing tent, sort of a portable closet, where plants can be separated to be given the proper care at each stage.
To sprout seeds, growers often keep them in a wet paper towel or other container to keep the seed moist for a day or a week, until it grows roots and its first tiny leaves. The seedling must be planted in soil or compost, or grown hydroponically by feeding water and nutrients through a soil-less medium, such as coconut fiber or perlite, to develop for two to four weeks.
The law allows five plants of more than 5 inches tall, which growers interpret to mean they may grow numerous small seedlings and then select the best among them.
Next comes the vegetation stage, when the plant grows foliage under 18 or more hours of light a day, for two to eight weeks. Finally comes the flowering stage, lasting four to 12 weeks, when the light is cut back to 12 hours a day, similar to late summer, and the plant grows the buds that produce cannabinoids such as THC and CBD.
But the plant isn’t ready to consume yet. It generally takes another month or two of drying and curing before it’s at its best. The whole process can take four to six months, so it requires patience.
Last year, shortages of medical pot began to occur in Illinois in the run-up to recreational sales. Kurfman built his own growing room in the basement of his home in downstate Mount Sterling. He recently finished his first crop, and maintains it’s better than what he buys at the stores.
Most of his costs went into a pair of $1,500 full spectrum commercial grade, 645 watt LED lights, another $1,000 or so for construction materials, plus gardening materials.

It’s been said that if you can grow tomatoes you can grow weed, but growers says that’s not a fair comparison, because marijuana changes so much at each stage. It requires different amounts of nutrients, light and water at each stage, and must be transplanted to progressively bigger containers to make sure its roots are being watered but allowed to drain and dry to avoid root rot.
In its final flowering stage, cannabis requires extensive trimming of leaves, so perhaps a more apt comparison is to a bonsai tree.
The plants also generally need a fan and a duct to vent out hot air, and a carbon filter to remove the skunky smell that can seriously bother housemates and neighbors.
Kurfman followed the advice of two experienced mentors, and is proud of the finished product, saying, “It turned out magnificent."
Other growers use more modest methods. Janelle Rinehart, a dispensary worker in Chicago, is raising two plants in a closet in her home in Irving Park, using hydroponics.
She calls her plants Elsa and Anna, and plays music by Lizzo and Sister Nancy to keep them energized. Eventually, she plans to slow-cook her pot in order to make cannabutter for cooking.
If grown well, one plant can produce a pound of pot — far more than the one ounce of flower that recreational users may possess legally, or the 2.5-ounce every two weeks purchase limit for medical patients.

David Kurfman displays the results of his first successful harvest in his basement grow room. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)
Many novices learn through trial and error. Those interested in getting guidance on how to grow pot at home may learn from Home Grow Chicago, which offers classes in raising small-scale cannabis crops. Managers Will Ikeda and Tommy Gliszewski started the business to share their love for cultivation.
Ikeda cautions that growers can run into numerous problems from lack of proper soil or nutrients for the plant, overwatering and underwatering, control of light, temperature (which should be in the 70s) and humidity (ranging from about 70% for a seedling to 40% in the final stages).
“We want people to understand how difficult this can be," Ikeda said. "A lot of issues can arrive, triggered by the environment or inexperience. We want people to be aware of the pitfalls, so they don’t waste their time and money.”
Members of NORML, the national organization that pushed for years to legalize pot, still hope to make it legal for everyone to grow.
Mickey Nulf, a cultivator and patient in Illinois, thinks it will eventually become common for medical patients to grow their own medicine. To serve that market, Nulf produces the Prof. Budz Potcast, and hosts a Facebook page where he offers advice on cultivation. He considers it the most exciting and therapeutic part of legalization.
“Let’s put the power back into patients’ hands,” he posted, “and let’s take care of our community.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Prices surge for wholesale cannabis flower in Illinois as demand outstrips supply

(This is the eighth in a series of stories from Marijuana Business Daily examining wholesale prices in U.S. recreational marijuana markets. Part 1 covered Nevada, Part 2 Washington state, Part 3 Oregon, Part 4California, Part 5 Colorado, Part 6 Alaska and Part 7 Michigan.)

Wholesale marijuana flower prices in Illinois are soaring as strong demand in the state’s nascent recreational cannabis program puts a strain on supply and cultivators scramble to build out facilities.

Illinois adult-use cannabis sales started gangbusters in January, with retail sales hitting $40 million in the first month – one of the strongest starts for an adult-use market since state-legal recreational sales began in the U.S. cannabis industry.

Sales dipped in February to $35 million, but the month had two fewer shopping days and some of the early excitement may have faded, if only slightly.




What was once a medical marijuana market of 100,000 patients is now a market of 8 million legal-age state residents who are eligible to purchase marijuana plus nearly 100 million tourists visiting each year – and supply is tight.


Marijuana Business Daily projects the Illinois recreational program could generate up to $2.5 billion a year, with the tourist market a large driver of sales.

Marijuana business owners in the state report pounds of wholesale cannabis flower are selling for:

• Average-quality indoor: $3,500 ($3,300 for medical marijuana a year ago)
• Premium-quality indoor: $4,000 ($3,500 for medical marijuana a year ago)

“Demand is currently far in excess of supply,” said Donny Trivisonno, executive vice president of planning, insights and analytics for Chicago-based vertically integrated cannabis company Cresco Labs.

Supply strain to persist

Wholesale cannabis suppliers are selling out of their flower inventory every week, with no indication that the supply will catch up anytime soon.

According to Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of Chicago-based vertically integrated cannabis company Green Thumb Industries, the medical marijuana market sold about $250 million worth of cannabis in 2019, and he expects demand will be about five-10 times that going into 2023.

“It will take a while to build out that kind of supply,” he added.

Smokable flower is the one category of cannabis products that’s the most scarce, as it’s in highest demand and the hardest to produce, according to Kovler.

That strained supply is leading to high costs being passed on to consumers. An eighth-ounce of cannabis flower can cost as much as $60 pre-tax at a store, which is considerable for a recreational marijuana market.

Though Kovler said he anticipates those prices will fall as more capital is deployed to build out production and increase supply.

Future expansion

That initial high cost is because large-scale operators have spent so much money building out their facilities they have to defer some of that cost to the consumer, said Mark de Souza, CEO of Chicago-based vertically integrated cannabis company Revolution Global.

To De Souza, the support from regulators and legislators allowed his business to build out a large footprint and understand exactly what the rules required. The regulators created the “gold standard” of cannabis markets, he said.

De Souza expects it’ll take until 2022 for the entire supply chain to be fully built out, to the tune of around $500 million of capital investment.

His company is working on finishing the construction of its second building.

“We find ourselves working 18-hour days to build out and grow as fast as we can,” De Souza said.

Cresco Labs is also building out facilities to keep pace with the demand. One in Lincoln, Illinois, will contain about 170,000 square feet of canopy when it’s finished.

“We are working hard to bring more product to market in coming months through ongoing expansion,” said Trivisonno.

Though “supply will remain tight for a while,” he added.

Trivisonno said that both medical marijuana patients and adult-use consumers are demanding flower, so the company is focusing on making it available.

“Growing quality flower at scale in any market is challenging,” he added.

Regulators got it right

Cannabis business owners in Illinois seem pleased overall with the rollout of the recreational market, praising regulators and lawmakers for creating a program that’s friendly to the industry.

“The state did a great job bringing adult-use legalization to fruition,” said Trivisonno.

Sammy Dorf, chief growth officer and co-founder for Chicago-based vertically integrated cannabis company Verano Holdings, echoed that.

“If you look at the Illinois regulated model, it’s a really strong program that’s set up well,” he said.

Dorf highlighted that more retail stores are coming online this year, which should lead to better access for patients and consumers, and an increase in sales for cannabis companies. The state could allow up to 185 recreational retail stores this year.

Dorf’s not worried that the market will become oversupplied like the industry has seen in other recreational marijuana markets such as Washington state and Oregon. He expects the supply and demand dynamic to stay well-balanced.

While Illinois could license up to a maximum of 500 stores in the coming years, that is still relatively few for a state with nearly 13 million people.

“We love working in markets that are highly regulated,” Dorf said. “We believe it creates the best and most consistent product for the consumer.”

 

[Baron23]

Wow, for premium that's $250/oz wholesale price!! Wow

 

[ataxian]

Wow, for premium that's $250/oz wholesale price!! Wow

$50 whole sale where I reside? /Oz price!

 

[Baron23]

Well, maybe if they get high enough they will quit shooting up Chicago.

And, why is the tax on edibles twice that of flower with 35% or less THC? Just WTF is that?

I often wonder if the people working in government who come up with stuff like this are of the same species cause I just don't get it....often.

Illinois sells $1 million in legal cannabis—per day

Just two months into adult-use legalization and Illinois dispensaries are selling more than a million dollars of legal cannabis—per day.
That number is based off revenue from steep taxes on legal sales. The state reported $10 million in cannabis tax revenue for the month of January, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office reported Feb. 24. The report shows how legalization is off to a roaring start in the Land of Lincoln.
Robust marijuana sales started Jan. 1, 2020 to tens of thousands of state residents and tourists who braved freezing pre-dawn temperatures and hours-long lines to smoke a piece of state history.
Long lines continued for days as flowers and vapes supplies quickly ran low. Some stores closed to recreational consumers, but kept serving medical patients. The result? Over $39 million in taxed, tested cannabis transactions; instead of street sales. Those sales generated $7.3 million in cannabis tax revenue, plus $3.1 million in retail sales tax revenue for the month of January.
‘Successful launch’
After taxes pay for regulators, the revenue goes to communities impacted by the war on drugs, as well as anti-drug programs, and mental health programs. Illinois built on the work from 10 prior legalization states, said Toi Hutchinson, senior advisor to Governor Pritzker for cannabis control.
“Today marks another milestone in the successful launch of Illinois’ legal cannabis industry. Our goal has been to build the nation’s most socially equitable program that includes new opportunities for the communities most harmed by the failed war on drugs. Revenue raised in this first month will soon begin flowing back into those communities to begin repairing the damage done by the failed policies of the past and creating new opportunities for those who have been left behind for far too long,” said Hutchinson.
Illinois marijuana taxes and allocations
Illinois taxes cannabis in two ways: a multi-tiered retail product tax, and a 7% growers tax.
Gov. Pritzker expects legal cannabis to generate at least $28 million in taxes through June 30, which is the end of the state’s fiscal year. By June 2021, that total will skyrocket 453% to $127 million for the fiscal year 2021.
Here is Illinois’ cannabis tax rates:
Cannabis Cultivation Privilege Tax of 0.7% of the gross receipts from the sale of cannabis by a cultivator or a craft grower to a dispensing organization.
Cannabis Purchaser Excise Taxes of:

• 10% of the purchase price for cannabis with a THC level at or below 35%
• 20% of the purchase price for all cannabis-infused products (edibles)
• 25% of the purchase price for all cannabis with a THC level above 35% (extracts)

Illinois cannabis tax revenue allocations
Minus administrative costs, the remaining state revenue will be allocated as follows:

• 35% for the General Revenue Fund
• 25% for the Criminal Justice Information Projects Fund to support the Restore Renew Reinvest program
• 20% for the Department of Human Services Community Services Fund to address substance abuse and prevention, and mental health concerns
• 10% for the Budget Stabilization Fund to pay unpaid bills
• 8% for the Local Government Distributive Fund to support crime prevention programs, training, and interdiction efforts, including detection, enforcement, and prevention efforts, relating to the illegal cannabis market and driving under the influence of cannabis
• 2% for the Drug Treatment Fund

Eleven US states have adult-use legalization, and a handful more could vote on legalization in the 2020 general election Nov. 3.

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Cannabis Industry Deemed 'Essential' During Coronavirus

CHICAGO — Illinois marijuana businesses are exempt from Gov. JB Pritzker's "stay at home" executive order to stem the spread of the new coronavirus. The order limits non-essential activities, banning public gatherings of more than 10 people and mandating social distancing.

The order, which takes effect Saturday afternoon, requires all businesses, other than those deemed essential, to stop all but minimum basic operations — allowing employees to keep working from home and maintaining the security of the business' property.

Cannabis dispensaries and licensed cannabis cultivation centers are included under the exemptions for agriculture, food and beverage production.

State regulators also have loosened restrictions on the sale of medical cannabis, normally only allowed inside designated areas in dispensaries. Under a temporary order allowing curbside delivery, licensed patients can purchase cannabis outside stores.

"Our top priority is to minimize the risk of and protect as many people from exposure to COVID-19," Toi Hutchinson, the governor's senior cannabis adviser, said.

"These steps prioritize that critical objective, while also ensuring medical patients have access to the medicine they need."

Pam Althoff, executive director of the trade group Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, said dispensaries and cultivators are also following guidance to enforce social distancing and practice strict sanitary practices.

"We're trying to be extraordinary proactive, we're a highly regulated industry to begin with, we deal with medically fragile, vulnerable patients and we want to ensure that not only are we caring for our patients but we're also caring for our employees, many of whom are also patients themselves," Altoff said.

Home delivery of cannabis remains banned, and curbside delivery is limited to medical cannabis cardholders or their designated caregivers under certain conditions.

"We have not yet discussed any further accommodations with regard to the coronavirus situation," Althoff said. "We've been talking daily about what might happen as we anticipate worst-case scenarios but all of those things are kind of a menu of options, and no one's pulled the trigger on any of them yet."

At least eight Illinois cannabis dispensaries have suspended the sale of recreational marijuana in response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Illinois Department of Financial Protection.

Others have increased online ordering capabilities to cut down on wait times and crowding among customers. Lines of people have been spotted gathering outside some of the fewer than 50 marijuana retailers open in Illinois since January.

While some cannabis dispensaries reported disruptions in their supply chain, Altoff said she expected the product of cultivation licenses issued last fall to be entering the market soon and doubted there would be any shortages. The industry's biggest bottleneck remains its workers, she said.

"If there's a concern, it's the same concern that most people are looking at," she said. "Ensuring that we have full staffing capabilities."

 

[Baron23]

Illinois House Rep Asks For Urgent Passing of Cannabis Home Delivery Legalization

The COVID-19 pandemic could accelerate the legalization of marijuana deliveries in Illinois.

Sonya Harper, a Democratic state House representative from Chicago, had already introduced a bill last month that would open the door for both medical and recreational cannabis customers to receive their products via delivery.

Harper’s legislation would remove language from the existing state statute “prohibiting dispensing organizations from transporting cannabis to residences or other locations where purchasers may be for delivery,” while providing “that dispensing organizations may deliver cannabis or cannabis-infused products to purchasers if specified requirements are met.”

The bill was referred to the state House rules committee on February 18, but Harper is now pushing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to enact her proposal in response to the coronavirus outbreak. “I would be happy to see if the governor maybe could make a special executive order allowing that, or us being able to get that legislation through maybe quicker than normal this year to provide for that,” said Harper, as quoted by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Changing Laws to Promote Public Health
Earlier this month, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced new rules allowing marijuana dispensaries to conduct curbside sales for the duration of March in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.

The guidelines will permit the dispensary to sell medical cannabis on the dispensary’s property or on a public walkway or curb adjacent to the dispensary. Medical cannabis patients will be able to continue to utilize their designated caregiver to purchase medicine for them,” the department said at the time. “However, dispensaries may not deliver medical cannabis to a patient or caregiver’s home. These rules do not apply to adult use cannabis sales; those must still take place inside the limited access area.”
Harper told the Sun-Times that her proposal would be ““more difficult” than implementing the temporary curbside pickup procedure.

“It would entail basically giving all municipalities and everybody across the state the ability to open up deliveries,” Harper said. “It would also be creating a new type of license.”

 

[Baron23]

The Illinois Cannabis Market Is Strong, But Shortages Will Persist For Months

llinois’ new recreational marijuana market is off to a hot start even amid the spread of coronavirus. Earlier this week, the state announced nearly $36 million worth of legal cannabis was sold in March — on par with numbers from February.


March may be two days longer, but it was also when the coronavirus outbreak worsened in Illinois and the rest of the country. Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered all nonessential businesses to close and residents to stay at home partway through the month.


Medical cannabis facilities are classified as essential health care and public health operations under Pritzker’s order.


“We can keep our doors open, and we’ve seen an uptick,” said Michael Perlman, executive vice president of investor relations and treasurer at Jushi Holdings. “More folks are coming in, so our stores are performing quite well.”


But keeping dispensaries open amid the outbreak also means the state will continue to face some product shortages as the new market matures.


“I don’t believe it’s going to (shore) up anything,” said Sammy Dorf, chief growth officer of Verano Holdings LLC. “Sales are pretty strong across the board.”


Product shortages are expected when a state first launches a recreational cannabis program. In Illinois, most cultivators are focused on getting any kind of product to store shelves, said Bethany Gomez, managing director at Brightfield Group, a market research and consumer analytics firm that focuses on the legal cannabis industry.


“Everything is selling out right away,” she said. “There’s just this big push to even meet demand and get any product on shelves. Anything that hits will move.”


Illinois’ supply-and-demand issues are a result of the state's approach to its recreational market — state officials wanted to begin with a smaller market.


“There’s product supply shortages, and that will really continue certainly through the next six months, probably over the next year, though,” Gomez explained. “But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”


She points to Oregon, which issued far too many growing licenses and wound up with a massive oversupply of cannabis. Most licensed cultivators in the state are also working to meet demand in the state, but it takes time to expand facilities and grow new plants.


“Everybody is expanding right now,” Dorf said. “The adult-use market popped up pretty quickly, and the minute we saw it coming, everybody started expanding their facilities to meet the demand.”


Gomez added Illinois' massive demand for cannabis will help smaller and mid-sized companies begin to operate in the state. New licenses for dispensaries and craft growers will be awarded in May.


“For those smaller and mid-sized companies, there will still be a lot more demand than is supply, which gives them a built-in audience,” she said.


Illinois will face cannabis supply challenges for the foreseeable future, Gomez said.


“Typically, it’s about 18 months from when the first dispensaries open their doors to the time that supply is meeting demand,” she said. “We’ll be looking at the middle of next year by the time the market really matures.”

 

[Baron23]

dat' be a lot of weed, mon.

Illionois Recreational Cannabis Sales Approach $110 Million in First Quarter of Legalization

March's $35.9 million revenue figure was close to the sales results for both January and February.

The latest official monthly sales data for recreational marijuana sales in Illinois have been published. Combined with the previous two months' data, they show that nearly $110 million worth of legal cannabis products were sold in the first quarter of 2020. That represents a solid beginning for the business in the state, where the sale and consumption of cannabis for recreational use was made legal on Jan. 1.

In March alone, revenue from adult-use sales amounted to $35.9 million, according to the numbers supplied by the state's Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. That was 3% higher than the February tally, though down 8% from January. February had two fewer days than March, while in January, there was robust buying activity due to the newness of marijuana's legal status.

"Three straight months of consistent adult use cannabis sales show there is -- and will continue to be -- strong support and demand from consumers," the Department said in its statement detailing the results.

In Illinois -- as in other U.S. states and municipalities -- dispensaries have been classified as "essential" businesses during the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, and thus have been allowed to keep operating, though with certain restrictions. They are permitted to sell cannabis products for both recreational and medical uses.

The provided data set did not break down the sales results by dispensary or dispensary operator; regardless, the consistency of the sales numbers should be welcome news for cannabis companies Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF) and Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF). Both are headquartered in Chicago, and each owns a clutch of dispensaries in the state.Neither Cresco nor Green Thumb has offered commentary yet on Illinois's latest figures. On Monday, Cresco's shares rose by 7.7%, marginally beating most market indexes on the day. Green Thumb underperformed the market, rising a comparatively modest 3.5%.

 

[Cheebachiefer]

Sorry Baron23, not tryna push u out and not really a reply. Think more like public service, but I think I have IMPORTANT NEWS for Illinois medical cannabis cardholders! This past Friday evening I went to the IDPH(Illinois Dept. of Public Health) website in order to pay my IL. mmj. card renewal fee of $100.00, however, thanks to IDPH and Gov. Pritzker, I don't have to! I have copied and pasted the official announcement as below:

Home/account sign-in page states:
IF YOUR MEDICAL CANNABIS REGISTRY CARD WILL EXPIRE BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health is immediately implementing a temporary process change for patients and caregivers whose cards will be expiring within the next 6 months. You will not be required to extend or renew your cards through renewal application and payment. You will receive new cards in the mail within the next few weeks which will add an additional year to the card term length. If you have already submitted a renewal application and payment, please understand that refunds are not allowed.

We hope this will alleviate some concerns during this crisis.

Please send any questions to DPH.medicalcannabis@illinois.gov

This could apply to more than a few people, $100.00 is not insignificant! Ok did my public service for the year! Thanks and goodnight erybody!

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Announces $31 Million In Marijuana Revenue-Funded Grants To Repair Drug War’s Harms

Illinois is putting its marijuana money where its mouth is, announcing on Tuesday that $31.5 million in restorative justice grants are now available thanks to tax revenue derived from legal cannabis sales.

Under the legalization bill that Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) signed last year, a Restore, Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program was established. It provides grant opportunities for “communities impacted by economic disinvestment, violence and the severe and multilayered harm caused by the war on drugs.”

Regulators have identified economically distressed areas around the state where businesses and nonprofits are eligible for the funds, and now they are announcing that $31.5 million has been made available for community assessment and planning initiatives as well as service delivery. It’s all made possible by the state’s cannabis law, which stipulates that 25 percent of tax revenue from marijuana sales must go to the R3 program.

“The R3 program is a critical step towards repairing the harms caused by the failed war on drugs and decades of economic disinvestment,” said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (D), who was among the first customers to purchase cannabis when shops opened in January, said in a press release. “Equity is one of the administration’s core values, and we are ensuring that state funding reaches organizations doing critical work in neighborhoods most impacted by the war on drugs.”

There are five priorities of R3 that the funds are meant to address: civil legal aid, economic development, reentry from the criminal justice system, violence prevention and youth development.

“In developing these funding opportunities, the focus has been on equity in opportunity at the community level,” Jason Stamps, acting director of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, said. “This program will start to close those gaps in areas most hard hit by gun violence, unemployment, and criminal justice system overuse. To do so, we are looking to R3 communities for proposals of programs and strategies they identify to best address their needs and challenges.”

The deadline to submit applications for the grants is July 20, 2020.

Illinois has consistently brought in tens of millions of dollars in cannabis tax revenue each month since sales launched. But while it represents an economic boon for the state, officials have repeatedly emphasized that they are prioritizing restorative justice in their legal marijuana system. Prior to the first sales in January, Pritzker cleared the records of more than 11,000 people who have previously been convicted of simple cannabis possession.

 

[bulllee]

Illinois offering $31 million in cannabis tax revenue to repair drug war damage

Your marijuana tax dollars at work: Local groups can now apply for grants to improve neighborhoods hardest hit by prohibition.

www.leafly.com

 

[momofthegoons]

Illinois Shatters Marijuana Sales Record With Nearly 1.3 Million Products Sold In July

Illinois saw another record-breaking month of recreational marijuana sales in July, the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced on Monday.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois is reporting nearly $61 million in adult-use cannabis sales—smashing the previous record set in June of nearly $47 million. For the first time, more than one million marijuana items—1,270,063 to be precise—were purchased in a monthly reporting period.

Illinois residents accounted for $44,749,787 in cannabis sales, while out-of-state visitors purchased $16,207,193 worth of marijuana.

Via Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
The new adult-use sales figures don’t include data about purchases made through the state’s medical cannabis program.

State officials have emphasized that while the strong sales trend is positive economic news, they’re primarily interested in using tax revenue to reinvest in communities most impacted by the drug war. Illinois brought in $52 million in cannabis tax revenue in the first six months since retail sales started in January, the state announced last month, 25 percent of which will go toward a social equity program.

In May, the state also announced that it was making available $31.5 million in restorative justice grants funded by marijuana tax revenue.

The out-of-state sales data seems to support Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) prediction during his State of the State address in January that cannabis tourism would bolster the state’s coffers.

Prior to implementation, the pardoned more than 11,000 people with prior marijuana convictions.

Over in Oregon, officials have been witnessing a similar sales trend amid the global health crisis. Data released in May showed sales of adult-use cannabis products were up 60 percent.

 

[Baron23]

Illinois To Issue 75 Cannabis Dispensary Licenses In Coming Weeks



State regulators announced 75 new cannabis dispensaries will be permitted in the coming weeks following Tuesday's approval of rules for a tiebreaking process for granting licenses to recreational marijuana retailers.



The licenses are set to be the first issued by Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to anyone other than the owners of the few dozen companies that were already authorized to operate medical marijuana dispensaries before lawmakers voted to legalize the retail sale of adult-use cannabis.
They are also due to be the first to be awarded following a scoring process including points for social equity applicants, as defined by last year's Cannabis Legalization and Tax Act.
"We are pleased that these rules have been adopted, and we remain unwavering in our commitment to ensuring these licenses are issued in a fair and objective way that implements Illinois' equity-centric law," said Toi Hutchinson, Pritzker's cannabis czar, in a statement. "Additional licenses will be made available in the coming years and these rules will help ensure a strong foundation is established for the licensing process in the future."
The deadline for issuing the new licenses, originally set for May 1, was delayed by an executive order issued by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And because the emergency rules issued in December expired after six months, the Pritzker administration needed to file permanent versions of the rules, which were adopted Tuesday at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules.
Under the new rules, eligible applicants for new licenses in the same region who have tied scores on their applications would be decided by a drawing of lots following a public notice process. After the state issued a conditional license, the licensee has 180 days to finalize a location where a dispensary can legally operate.
No more specific timeline , other than sometime in the "coming weeks," was immediately available from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, or IDFPR, for when the agency will award the new licenses.
Applications for craft grower, infuser and transporter licenses are being scored by the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which will announce award dates in the "near future," IDFPR announced.