Several cannabis entrepreneurs who teamed up to secure approval for a marijuana cultivation center in Illinois have abandoned the effort because they didn’t start the process soon enough.
The group, whose participants were kept private, hoped to open a grow operation in Marengo, located about 60 miles northwest of Chicago. They approached the city in early August to open dialogue with local officials.
City officials reacted favorably to the idea of being home to a medical marijuana cultivation site. However, with a two-week window remaining to secure land, finalize involvement from local stakeholders and complete the state’s in-depth application process, the team reportedly decided it did not have sufficient time to complete the deal.
Marengo’s mayor, Don Lockhart, felt the city could have provided a good partner to a grow site, and expressed disappointment on the city losing out on a potential new employer.
“As far as losing an enterprise, (the business people) were responsible for getting certain things done, and they didn’t do it in time,” he said.