Illinois may legalize outdoor cannabis cultivation in potential boost for craft growers

In a potential major departure for Illinois licensed cannabis producers that could shake up the wholesale and retail sectors of the estimated $1.5 billion annual market, state marijuana regulators are considering legalizing outdoor cannabis cultivation.

Allowing widespread outdoor commercial cannabis cultivation – an allowance quietly extended to a few operators after court cases, as first reported by The Cole Memo – promises a transformative effect for the state’s existing industry, currently dominated by cannabis multistate operators.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture’s Aug. 14 proposal to redefine “licensed premises” would allow both large-scale licensed cultivators and so-called small “craft growers” to cultivate outdoors, according to Illinois News Joint.

Previous interpretations of the requirement to grow in an “enclosed, locked facility” required a roof, although some large-scale cultivators use greenhouses.

What are the rules for Illinois cannabis cultivation?

According to the state, cannabis cultivation “in an outdoor area” would be allowed if the premises are:

• Enclosed by a chain-link fence at least 8 feet tall and topped by razor wire or other security wire
• Secured by an access point or gate
• Screened or covered to be outside of “ordinary public view”

As the Chicago Tribune reported, allowing outdoor cultivation – a standard practice in markets including California, Michigan, New York and Oregon – could cut costs for producers and lower prices for consumers.

It could also finally encourage more operators to obtain a small craft growing permit.

Are Illinois cannabis cultivation rules friendly to small growers?

To date, cannabis production in Illinois has been dominated by large-scale producers who held medical cannabis permits before the state’s adult-use market launch in 2020.

These operators are allowed to cultivate up to 210,000 square feet of canopy. However, state law caps the number of these permits at 21.

A recent change in state law increased the total canopy for a craft grower from 5,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet.

But out of 85 craft growing permits available statewide, only 31 have been awarded, Scott Redman, founder of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association, told the Tribune.

Allowing these growers to cultivate outside means “millions” in savings on costly lighting and HVAC systems, Redman told the newspaper.

“This is a significant step forward for the industry as far as I am concerned,” he said, as per the Tribune.

Who is growing cannabis outdoors in Illinois?

At least three companies believe that outdoor cultivation is already allowed in Illinois.

As the Tribune reported, Curaleaf Holdings, which is by some estimates the country’s largest marijuana firm, filed suit last year to allow for cannabis cultivation in “plastic-covered hoop houses” instead of a building with “solid walls and ceilings.”

Two other companies, Chicago-headquartered Green Thumb Industries and Nature’s Grace and Wellness, also went to the courts to continue growing in what the newspaper called “screened houses, which are fenced areas with screens on top.”