Another lawsuit has been filed against the state of Illinois over its cannabis licensing process, this time by two companies that claim they were “forced” to relinquish lottery spots for retail permits by a state agency.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Suite Greens and So Baked Too allege in the suit against the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation that agency officials pushed them to give up coveted spots in one of three lotteries for marijuana retail permits.
Both companies have nine spots, or chances, to win in the final lottery of the three, but they allege they should have an additional three, according to the lawsuit.
The third of the three lotteries is scheduled for Aug. 19, but it likely will be delayed after a judge last week ordered regulators not to issue any new licenses until a ruling is handed down on one of the many lawsuits filed against Illinois’ licensing process.
The suit filed by Suite Greens and So Baked Too requests that a Cook County court judge force the state to give them back the three spots they relinquished but doesn’t ask that the licensing process be halted or redone.
Among the lawsuits filed in Illinois by would-be marijuana licensees:
- Michigan-based Sozo Illinois filed a federal lawsuit in July in an attempt to stop the licensing process.
- Three businesses connected to Justice Cannabis filed a federal lawsuit in July, alleging they had been wrongly left out of one of the lotteries.
- High Haven Dispensary filed a state lawsuit in August, claiming the company should have received more social equity points than it got during the license application process.
