March 03--Illinois regulators Monday awarded a medical marijuana growing license to PharmaCann LLC, to replace a firm that gave up its license in the northwestern part of the state.
The approval means that PharmaCann, based in Oak Park, has won approval for two grow centers and four dispensaries statewide, more than any other business in the state.
Green Thumb Industries LLC gave up its license to grow marijuana in Dixon last week after it didn't come up with the required $2 million surety bond or escrow account and the $200,000 permit fee. Local officials said Green Thumb, which also has licenses to operate two other grow centers, expressed concerns about the cost of the license while only about 1,000 patients have been approved to get medical marijuana.
GTI officials said their decision to give up the license had nothing to do with a lack of financial resources.
GTI "strategically decided not to accept the license for market reasons and to narrow the focus of its business to two cultivation markets," spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch wrote in an email.
PharmaCann qualified for the license as the second highest scorer in the District, and now has 15 business days to come up with the money, the Illinois Department of Agriculture announced.
A PharmaCann representative could not be reached.
District 1 covers Carroll, Ogle, Lee and Whiteside counties, west of DeKalb. In August, the village board of Hillcrest, just south of Rockford, unanimously approved a resolution for PharmaCann to locate the proposed cultivation center there.
In the fall, federal documents show, PharmaCann reported selling $20 million in securities, with a minimum $50,000 purchase from outside investors.
Regulators are still reviewing applications for three cultivation center licenses in Cook County and in District 2, which covers DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry counties.
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
