Eight more marijuana dispensaries approved to sell recreational weed

The state gave eight more marijuana dispensaries permission to sell recreational weed, including one in Chicago and one in Evanston, starting Jan. 1.

That brings the total to 22 stores around the state, including four in Chicago, that have been approved to start selling marijuana to people other than medical patients in less than six weeks.

Two of those stores, however, are in Naperville and Arlington Heights, which have banned recreational sales. Municipalities have the right to do so, and some around the state are still making their decisions on the matter.

The eight stores approved Tuesday include the five Verilife locations in North Aurora, Arlington Heights, Ottawa, Romeoville and Evanston; MOCA – Modern Cannabis in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood; New Age Care in Mount Prospect and Harbory in Marion.

The five Verilife stores are owned by Chicago-based PharmaCann, which last month terminated a $682 million acquisition deal with California-based cannabis giant MedMen Enterprises. While MedMen is no longer purchasing PharmaCann, it is getting a portion of the company’s Illinois business. In exchange for forgiveness of certain debt, MedMen will acquire the Evanston Verilife store, as well as one of PharmaCann’s two growing facilities and a license to open another retail location.

PharmaCann’s Chicago-based competitors Cresco Labs and Green Thumb Industries have also received the state’s permission to sell recreational weed from all five of their dispensaries.

Illinois has 55 medical cannabis dispensaries, and all were able to apply for a license to sell recreational marijuana from those locations. They can also apply to open a second shop, but the state has not started to award those second-site licenses yet.

When Illinois legalized marijuana, it sparked a backlash from suburban residents who don’t want pot shops in their towns »

In Chicago, dispensaries will not be allowed along the Magnificent Mile, the Loop or large chunks of River North along the lakefront. Chicago’s recreational cannabis rules created seven zones for marijuana sales. Initially, no more than seven dispensaries will be allowed in each zone.

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