Dec. 30--State regulators are still reviewing applications for medical marijuana business licenses, jeopardizing their goal of naming the winners before the end of the year.
Officials issued a statement Tuesday that they are still conducting "a comprehensive review of every cultivation center and dispensary applicant to ensure that only the most qualified are approved for this important program."
"We are strongly committed to bringing relief to thousands of people across the state and ensuring Illinois is the national model for implementing medical cannabis," the statement read. "We are working hard to make sure this is done right."
Government watchdogs have criticized the secrecy surrounding the process of granting business licenses under the state law that authorized a four-year medical marijuana pilot program starting this year. State officials from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture, which are overseeing the review, have not revealed who has applied, but said they will announce the winners when they finish scoring the applications.
Business applicants have praised regulators' implementation of the program, including setting rules earlier this year, but many patients are frustrated that the process is taking this long.
After licenses are awarded for 21 growing centers and 60 retail shops, officials say it will probably take until spring before the first crop is available. Patients must pass a criminal background check and get their doctors' recommendation to prove they have one of about three dozen qualifying medical conditions.
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
Twitter @RobertMcCoppin
