Overview of Key Illinois Cannabis Laws
Is medical cannabis allowed? Yes
Is adult-use cannabis allowed? Yes
Personal Laws
While not completely decriminalized, people in Illinois can possess and grow cannabis for medical and recreational use within certain limits. Purchases must be made from licensed dispensaries and stores.
Personal Possession
Overall Possession: Up to 30 grams of raw cannabis
Infused Product or Products Possession: Must not contain more than 500 mg of THC
Concentrates Possession: Up to five grams of concentrated products
Non-Illinois Resident Purchases and Possession: Half of what residents can purchase and possess.
Personal Growing
Registered medical marijuana patients and registered caregivers can grow cannabis plants under the CRTA beginning on January 1, 2020. Recreational growing is not allowed.
Registered Medical Patient Growing: No more than 5 plants
Registered Caregiver Growing: No more than 5 plants
Recreational User Growing: No more than 5 plants
Medical Cannabis Patient Qualification and Registry
Patients are required to register for a marijuana Registry Card and renew their cards each year. Patients must have a qualifying condition and receive a medical marijuana recommendation from the treating doctor.
Qualifying medical conditions include:
- Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Arnold-Chiari malformation
- Cancer
- Causalgia
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- Crohn’s disease
- CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome Type II)
- Dystonia
- Fibrous Dysplasia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydromyelia
- Interstitial cystitis
- Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella syndrome
- Neurofibromatosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-Concussion Syndrome
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Residual limb pain
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Seizures (including those characteristic of Epilepsy)
- Severe fibromyalgia
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Spinal cord disease (including but not limited to arachnoiditis)
- Spinal cord injury is damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
- Spinocerebellar ataxia
- Syringomyelia
- Tarlov cysts
- Tourette syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Cachexia/wasting syndrome
- Terminal illness with a diagnosis of 6 months or less
Business Laws
Vertical integration or “license stacking” is not allowed, which means a company cannot hold multiple licenses across the Illinois supply chain (e.g., both cultivation and dispensary licenses). Residency is not required to apply for a cannabis business license in Illinois. A social equity program is in place to benefit business license applicants who have suffered due to the war on cannabis.
Note that early approval adult-use cultivation and dispensary licenses will be awarded to qualifying applicants among existing cultivation and dispensary license holders in the state. These licenses will be valid until May 2021. The CRTA states that licenses will also be awarded to new market entrants for all types of licenses except cultivation center licenses after early approval adult-use licenses have been awarded. If additional cultivation licenses are needed, the Department of Agriculture will set application and registration fees.
License Types
- Cultivation Center Licenses
- Craft Grower Licenses
- Processor Licenses
- Transporting Organization Licenses
- Dispensing Organization
License Fees for Adult Use Licenses under CRTA for New Market Entrants
Cultivation Center: Not available for new market entrants
Craft Grower: $5,000 application fee (non-refundable) and $40,000 license fee
Processor: $5,000 application fee (non-refundable) and $40,000 license fee
Transporting Organization: $5,000 application fee (non-refundable) and $10,000 licensing fee
Dispensing Organization: $5,000 application fee (non-refundable) and $30,000 license fee
License Timeline
Illinois will award applications for business licenses from new entrants to the state’s adult-use cannabis market as follows:
- May 1, 2020: Up to 75 new dispensing organization licenses awarded
- July 1, 2020: Up to 40 new processor licenses, up to 40 craft grower licenses and transporting organization licenses awarded.
- December 21, 2021: Up to 110 new dispensing organization licenses awarded.
- December 21, 2010: Up to 60 new processor licenses, up to 60 craft grower licenses and transporting organization licenses awarded.
Testing
Testing is required of all cannabis and cannabis-related products sold in Illinois.
Training
Illinois requires that all dispensing organizations who handle or sell cannabis attend Responsible Vendor Training from a state-approved training provider. Follow the link to learn more about Illinois Responsible Vendor Training.
Sources and More Information
Data current as of 9/19/19.
