Things have been relatively quiet here in Illinois since the passing of the September 22 application deadline for dispensary and cultivation center hopefuls. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture have been busy grappling with the several hundred applications, and earlier this month applicants got the tiniest bit of insight
For most of our clients in Illinois, Nevada, and Washington, the heady days of applying for state marijuana business licenses are behind them. These states have either reviewed or are still reviewing the application submissions, which included operating plans and financials and criminal histories. In those applications, especially in competitive states, the applicants made statements
A Seattle church located in uber-hip Capitol Hill (Mt. Calvary Christian Center) is protesting against Uncle Ike’s, a state licensed cannabis retailer that has opened up shop next door. The church’s lead pastor claims that a cannabis retailer located within 1,000 feet of his church is “an indictment of where our society has come.” This pastor also
Now that the deadline for submitting Illinois cannabis license applications has passed, it is time to look forward to another aspect of the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act — taxes. The Act has generated two new state taxes, the Medical Cannabis Cultivation Privilege Tax (“Cultivation Tax”) and the related Compassionate Use of
The deadline to submit an application to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or Department of Agriculture to run a dispensary or grow facility (respectively) came and went on Monday this week. With applications complete, the conversation now turns to how many applications were submitted and when decisions might be made. Yesterday afternoon
Several of our Chicago attorneys (including me) attended the recent NCIA member reception in Chicago, where the hot topic of conversation was not the MMJ application process going on right now, but rather what happens next. Discussions seemed to focus on three topics: What’s going to happen with Illinois’ current Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis
We are always getting questions from our clients on how to manage their cannabis businesses in the context of legalization. How do we protect our brand name? How do we license our brand to other states? How do we make sure we are complying with packaging and labeling regulations? Are we allowed to advertise? How do
Last Monday the Illinois Department of Public Health began accepting applications from patients seeking qualification for a medical marijuana patient card. Months ago, observers were speculating that anywhere from 15,000 to 100,000 patients would qualify to receive MMJ during the first application period. On Friday, the Department of Public Health announced it had received more
As promised, today we discuss highlights from the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s recently posted FAQs for medical cannabis cultivation center applicants. Interestingly, Ag’s list of FAQs are much shorter than DFPR’s, despite the grower application process being somewhat more complicated, rigorous, and expensive. Perhaps that confirms what we have been seeing — that many cultivation center
This week’s announcement from the state of Illinois confirming the application window for prospective dispensary and cultivation businesses was accompanied by two sets of FAQs from the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. These FAQs were compiled following the series of town hall meetings held around the state
