Three drawings for cannabis retail store licenses in Illinois are slated to begin later this month.
According to Capitol News Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said Thursday that he had signed into law House Bill 1443, which creates two new lotteries in addition to the long-delayed original drawing.
The two new lotteries will go first:
- A July 29 drawing, for 55 licenses, will be held for applicants who previously received 85% of a total of 250 points on the state’s assessment. Candidates in this drawing must not have reached the state’s 10-license limit.
- An Aug. 5 drawing, also for 55 licenses, is set up for social equity applicants who live in an area impacted by the war on drugs or have past arrests for marijuana-related offenses as well as scored 85% on the state’s scale.
Then, on Aug. 19, comes the originally planned lottery for 75 licenses that were expected to be issued in 2020.
However, the awarding of those licenses was delayed by litigation and complaints over the state’s scoring system.
The three drawings will be managed by the Illinois Lottery, with a random computer process deciding the winners, Capitol News Illinois reported.
