Illinois will expand its cannabis industry following judge’s ruling

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A moratorium on the issuance of cannabis licenses is being lifted

Craft cannabis licensees now have the opportunity to move forward with their business plans after Stephen Balogh, judge of the Winnebago County Circuit Court in Illinois, decided to overturn a restraining order. The order had been issued on behalf of several cannabis growers who had lost their license bids.

As a result of this decision, the doors have been opened for a total of 88 cannabis social equity applicants and artisanal marijuana growers to become part of their businesses in the legal adult-use marijuana supply chain. Under a new administrative review law protocol, growers have the ability to challenge the results rather than sue.

“It means the state is open for business,” Scott Redman, the president of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association, said. “Had we been on hold much longer, it would have been catastrophic.”

However, the delay in licensing has caused some new businesses to lose the properties where they had initially planned to set up operations, attorneys for the Illinois attorney general’s office said. This has left many still looking for land and financing that is properly zoned.

They said an amended complaint could be just around the corner, and it is possible that many more license applicants will join the legal effort. Redman says all of this leads him to predict that many of the artisanal products may not see their businesses open until next year as they are still in need of building cultivation facilities and completing other preparation work.