transparency

When it comes to licensing transparency in Illinois cannabis, there are some recent examples worth noting. Nobo in Lakemoor, Terrabis in Dixon, and even nuEra Cannabis’ 8th dispensary in East Dubuque (opening tomorrow) all have publicly available, searchable licenses in the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) database. You can easily find their issue dates, active statuses, and more, just like you’d expect in a properly functioning system.

But then there’s Prairie Cannabis, and here’s where things get interesting. This dispensary is set to open soon in Warrenville… or Naperville… or maybe some other zip code entirely, depending on the day. Yet, a quick check of the IDFPR database shows… nothing. No license, no active status, just a fully built-out facility, ready to open, and even being promoted online. Makes you wonder how that works, doesn’t it?

When I’ve spoken with folks in the industry for CannaConsigliere, they’ve shared how craft or social equity license transfers can take up to two years for state approval. So how does Prairie Cannabis, whose LLC was just created in June, already seem so far ahead of the game?

And here’s another question to chew on: don’t spouses count toward dispensary ownership limits? If taxes are filed jointly, doesn’t that imply shared ownership unless separated specifically to bypass the rules? If so, wouldn’t that create yet another loophole that skirts fair licensing practices?

It seems the state might grant certain privileges to certain people or players, doesn’t it? This doesn’t feel like a human or computer error, maybe it’s a delay until they figure out how to hide ties to avoid the upcoming ten dispensary count. But what do I know? I’m not the state looking the other way.

Of course, these are just my thoughts and opinions, based on publicly available information and industry conversations. But it does seem to line up with other patterns we’ve seen in the regulatory world, doesn’t it? Usually, other players at least set up systems to obscure ownership, rather than this set up that can blatantly break the rules.

What do you think? Just sharing some observations as I connect a few dots.

Confidential. Subject to protective order.