Illinois Compiled Statutes
410 ILCS 705/ - Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
Article 20 - Adult Use Cultivation Centers

(410 ILCS 705/Art. 20 heading)

(410 ILCS 705/20-1)
Sec. 20-1. Definition. In this Article, "Department" means the Department of Agriculture.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-5)
Sec. 20-5. Issuance of licenses. On or after July 1, 2021, the Department of Agriculture by rule may:
(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-10)
Sec. 20-10. Early Approval of Adult Use Cultivation Center License.
(a) Any medical cannabis cultivation center registered and in good standing under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act as of the effective date of this Act may, within 60 days of the effective date of this Act but no later than 180 days from the effective date of this Act, apply to the Department of Agriculture for an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License to produce cannabis and cannabis-infused products at its existing facilities as of the effective date of this Act.
(b) A medical cannabis cultivation center seeking issuance of an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License shall submit an application on forms provided by the Department of Agriculture. The application must meet or include the following qualifications:
(c) An Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License is valid until March 31, 2021. A cultivation center that obtains an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License shall receive written or electronic notice 90 days before the expiration of the license that the license will expire, and inform the license holder that it may renew its Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License. The Department of Agriculture shall grant a renewal of an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License within 60 days of submission of an application if:
(c-5) The Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License renewed pursuant to subsection (c) of this Section shall expire March 31, 2022. The Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center Licensee shall receive written or electronic notice 90 days before the expiration of the license that the license will expire, and inform the license holder that it may apply for an Adult Use Cultivation Center License. The Department of Agriculture shall grant an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License within 60 days of an application being deemed complete if the applicant meets all of the criteria in Section 20-21.
(d) The license fee required by paragraph (1) of subsection (c) of this Section shall be in addition to any license fee required for the renewal of a registered medical cannabis cultivation center license that expires during the effective period of the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License.
(e) Applicants must submit all required information, including the requirements in subsection (b) of this Section, to the Department of Agriculture. Failure by an applicant to submit all required information may result in the application being disqualified.
(f) If the Department of Agriculture receives an application with missing information, the Department may issue a deficiency notice to the applicant. The applicant shall have 10 calendar days from the date of the deficiency notice to submit complete information. Applications that are still incomplete after this opportunity to cure may be disqualified.
(g) If an applicant meets all the requirements of subsection (b) of this Section, the Department of Agriculture shall issue the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License within 14 days of receiving the application unless:
(h) A cultivation center may begin producing cannabis and cannabis-infused products once the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License is approved. A cultivation center that obtains an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License may begin selling cannabis and cannabis-infused products on December 1, 2019.
(i) An Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License holder must continue to produce and provide an adequate supply of cannabis and cannabis-infused products for purchase by qualifying patients and caregivers. For the purposes of this subsection, "adequate supply" means a monthly production level that is comparable in type and quantity to those medical cannabis products produced for patients and caregivers on an average monthly basis for the 6 months before the effective date of this Act.
(j) If there is a shortage of cannabis or cannabis-infused products, a license holder shall prioritize patients registered under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act over adult use purchasers.
(k) If an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center licensee fails to submit an application for an Adult Use Cultivation Center License before the expiration of the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License pursuant to subsection (c-5) of this Section, the cultivation center shall cease adult use cultivation until it receives an Adult Use Cultivation Center License.
(l) A cultivation center agent who holds a valid cultivation center agent identification card issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act and is an officer, director, manager, or employee of the cultivation center licensed under this Section may engage in all activities authorized by this Article to be performed by a cultivation center agent.
(m) If the Department of Agriculture suspends or revokes the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License of a cultivation center that also holds a medical cannabis cultivation center license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, the Department of Agriculture may suspend or revoke the medical cannabis cultivation center license concurrently with the Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License.
(n) All fees or fines collected from an Early Approval Adult Use Cultivation Center License holder as a result of a disciplinary action in the enforcement of this Act shall be deposited into the Cannabis Regulation Fund.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-15)
Sec. 20-15. Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center application.
(a) If the Department of Agriculture makes available additional cultivation center licenses pursuant to Section 20-5, applicants for a Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License shall electronically submit the following in such form as the Department of Agriculture may direct:
(b) Applicants must submit all required information, including the information required in Section 20-10, to the Department of Agriculture. Failure by an applicant to submit all required information may result in the application being disqualified.
(c) If the Department of Agriculture receives an application with missing information, the Department of Agriculture may issue a deficiency notice to the applicant. The applicant shall have 10 calendar days from the date of the deficiency notice to resubmit the incomplete information. Applications that are still incomplete after this opportunity to cure will not be scored and will be disqualified.
(e) A cultivation center that is awarded a Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License pursuant to the criteria in Section 20-20 shall not grow, purchase, possess, or sell cannabis or cannabis-infused products until the person has received an Adult Use Cultivation Center License issued by the Department of Agriculture pursuant to Section 20-21 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-20)
Sec. 20-20. Conditional Adult Use License scoring applications.
(a) The Department of Agriculture shall by rule develop a system to score cultivation center applications to administratively rank applications based on the clarity, organization, and quality of the applicant's responses to required information. Applicants shall be awarded points based on the following categories:
(b) The Department may also award bonus points for the applicant's plan to engage with the community. Bonus points will only be awarded if the Department receives applications that receive an equal score for a particular region.
(c) Should the applicant be awarded a cultivation center license, the information and plans that an applicant provided in its application, including any plans submitted for the acquiring of bonus points, becomes a mandatory condition of the permit. Any variation from or failure to perform such plans may result in discipline, including the revocation or nonrenewal of a license.
(d) Should the applicant be awarded a cultivation center license, it shall pay a fee of $100,000 prior to receiving the license, to be deposited into the Cannabis Regulation Fund. The Department of Agriculture may by rule adjust the fee in this Section after January 1, 2021.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-21)
Sec. 20-21. Adult Use Cultivation Center License.
(a) A person or entity is only eligible to receive an Adult Use Cultivation Center License if the person or entity has first been awarded a Conditional Adult Use Cultivation Center License pursuant to this Act or the person or entity has renewed its Early Approval Cultivation Center License pursuant to subsection (c) of Section 20-10.
(b) The Department of Agriculture shall not issue an Adult Use Cultivation Center License until:
(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-25)
Sec. 20-25. Denial of application. An application for a cultivation center license must be denied if any of the following conditions are met:
(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-30)
Sec. 20-30. Cultivation center requirements; prohibitions.
(a) The operating documents of a cultivation center shall include procedures for the oversight of the cultivation center, a cannabis plant monitoring system including a physical inventory recorded weekly, accurate recordkeeping, and a staffing plan.
(b) A cultivation center shall implement a security plan reviewed by the Illinois State Police that includes, but is not limited to: facility access controls, perimeter intrusion detection systems, personnel identification systems, 24-hour surveillance system to monitor the interior and exterior of the cultivation center facility and accessibility to authorized law enforcement, the Department of Public Health where processing takes place, and the Department of Agriculture in real time.
(c) All cultivation of cannabis by a cultivation center must take place in an enclosed, locked facility at the physical address provided to the Department of Agriculture during the licensing process. The cultivation center location shall only be accessed by the agents working for the cultivation center, the Department of Agriculture staff performing inspections, the Department of Public Health staff performing inspections, local and State law enforcement or other emergency personnel, contractors working on jobs unrelated to cannabis, such as installing or maintaining security devices or performing electrical wiring, transporting organization agents as provided in this Act, individuals in a mentoring or educational program approved by the State, or other individuals as provided by rule.
(d) A cultivation center may not sell or distribute any cannabis or cannabis-infused products to any person other than a dispensing organization, craft grower, infuser organization, transporter, or as otherwise authorized by rule.
(e) A cultivation center may not either directly or indirectly discriminate in price between different dispensing organizations, craft growers, or infuser organizations that are purchasing a like grade, strain, brand, and quality of cannabis or cannabis-infused product. Nothing in this subsection (e) prevents a cultivation center from pricing cannabis differently based on differences in the cost of manufacturing or processing, the quantities sold, such as volume discounts, or the way the products are delivered.
(f) All cannabis harvested by a cultivation center and intended for distribution to a dispensing organization must be entered into a data collection system, packaged and labeled under Section 55-21, and placed into a cannabis container for transport. All cannabis harvested by a cultivation center and intended for distribution to a craft grower or infuser organization must be packaged in a labeled cannabis container and entered into a data collection system before transport.
(g) Cultivation centers are subject to random inspections by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Health, local safety or health inspectors, the Illinois State Police, or as provided by rule.
(h) A cultivation center agent shall notify local law enforcement, the Illinois State Police, and the Department of Agriculture within 24 hours of the discovery of any loss or theft. Notification shall be made by phone or in person, or by written or electronic communication.
(i) A cultivation center shall comply with all State and any applicable federal rules and regulations regarding the use of pesticides on cannabis plants.
(j) No person or entity shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, of more than 3 cultivation centers licensed under this Article. Further, no person or entity that is employed by, an agent of, has a contract to receive payment in any form from a cultivation center, is a principal officer of a cultivation center, or entity controlled by or affiliated with a principal officer of a cultivation shall hold any legal, equitable, ownership, or beneficial interest, directly or indirectly, in a cultivation that would result in the person or entity owning or controlling in combination with any cultivation center, principal officer of a cultivation center, or entity controlled or affiliated with a principal officer of a cultivation center by which he, she, or it is employed, is an agent of, or participates in the management of, more than 3 cultivation center licenses.
(k) A cultivation center may not contain more than 210,000 square feet of canopy space for plants in the flowering stage for cultivation of adult use cannabis as provided in this Act.
(l) A cultivation center may process cannabis, cannabis concentrates, and cannabis-infused products.
(m) Beginning July 1, 2020, a cultivation center shall not transport cannabis or cannabis-infused products to a craft grower, dispensing organization, infuser organization, or laboratory licensed under this Act, unless it has obtained a transporting organization license.
(n) It is unlawful for any person having a cultivation center license or any officer, associate, member, representative, or agent of such licensee to offer or deliver money, or anything else of value, directly or indirectly to any person having an Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, or to any person connected with or in any way representing, or to any member of the family of, such person holding an Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act, or to any stockholders in any corporation engaged in the retail sale of cannabis, or to any officer, manager, agent, or representative of the Early Approval Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, a Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License, or a medical cannabis dispensing organization license issued under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program Act to obtain preferential placement within the dispensing organization, including, without limitation, on shelves and in display cases where purchasers can view products, or on the dispensing organization's website.
(o) A cultivation center must comply with any other requirements or prohibitions set by administrative rule of the Department of Agriculture.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 101-593, eff. 12-4-19; 102-98, eff. 7-15-21; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-35)
Sec. 20-35. Cultivation center agent identification card.
(a) The Department of Agriculture shall:
(b) An agent must keep his or her identification card visible at all times when on the property of the cultivation center at which the agent is employed.
(c) The agent identification cards shall contain the following:
(d) An agent identification card shall be immediately returned to the cultivation center of the agent upon termination of his or her employment.
(e) Any agent identification card lost by a cultivation center agent shall be reported to the Illinois State Police and the Department of Agriculture immediately upon discovery of the loss.
(f) The Department of Agriculture shall not issue an agent identification card if the applicant is delinquent in filing any required tax returns or paying any amounts owed to the State of Illinois.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-40)
Sec. 20-40. Cultivation center background checks.
(a) Through the Illinois State Police, the Department of Agriculture shall conduct a background check of the prospective principal officers, board members, and agents of a cultivation center applying for a license or identification card under this Act. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee set by rule for conducting the criminal history record check, which shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual cost of the record check. In order to carry out this provision, each cultivation center prospective principal officer, board member, or agent shall submit a full set of fingerprints to the Illinois State Police for the purpose of obtaining a State and federal criminal records check. These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records now and hereafter, to the extent allowed by law, filed in the Illinois State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records databases. The Illinois State Police shall furnish, following positive identification, all conviction information to the Department of Agriculture.
(b) When applying for the initial license or identification card, the background checks for all prospective principal officers, board members, and agents shall be completed before submitting the application to the licensing or issuing agency.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19; 102-538, eff. 8-20-21.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-45)
Sec. 20-45. Renewal of cultivation center licenses and agent identification cards.
(a) Licenses and identification cards issued under this Act shall be renewed annually. A cultivation center shall receive written or electronic notice 90 days before the expiration of its current license that the license will expire. The Department of Agriculture shall grant a renewal within 45 days of submission of a renewal application if:
(b) If a cultivation center fails to renew its license before expiration, it shall cease operations until its license is renewed.
(c) If a cultivation center agent fails to renew his or her identification card before its expiration, he or she shall cease to work as an agent of the cultivation center until his or her identification card is renewed.
(d) Any cultivation center that continues to operate, or any cultivation center agent who continues to work as an agent, after the applicable license or identification card has expired without renewal is subject to the penalties provided under Section 45-5.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-50)
Sec. 20-50. Cultivator taxes; returns.
(a) A tax is imposed upon the privilege of cultivating and processing adult use cannabis at the rate of 7% of the gross receipts from the sale of cannabis by a cultivator to a dispensing organization. The sale of any adult use product that contains any amount of cannabis or any derivative thereof is subject to the tax under this Section on the full selling price of the product. The proceeds from this tax shall be deposited into the Cannabis Regulation Fund. This tax shall be paid by the cultivator who makes the first sale and is not the responsibility of a dispensing organization, qualifying patient, or purchaser.
(b) In the administration of and compliance with this Section, the Department of Revenue and persons who are subject to this Section: (i) have the same rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, powers, and duties, (ii) are subject to the same conditions, restrictions, limitations, penalties, and definitions of terms, and (iii) shall employ the same modes of procedure as are set forth in the Cannabis Cultivation Privilege Tax Law and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act as if those provisions were set forth in this Section.
(c) The tax imposed under this Act shall be in addition to all other occupation or privilege taxes imposed by the State of Illinois or by any municipal corporation or political subdivision thereof.

(Source: P.A. 101-27, eff. 6-25-19.)

(410 ILCS 705/20-55)
Sec. 20-55. Disclosure of ownership and control.
(a) Each Adult Use Cultivation Center applicant and license holder shall file and maintain a Table of Organization, Ownership, and Control with the Department. The Table of Organization, Ownership, and Control shall contain the information required by this Section in sufficient detail to identify all owners, directors, and principal officers, and the title of each principal officer or business entity that, through direct or indirect means, manages, owns, or controls the applicant or license holder.
(b) The Table of Organization, Ownership, and Control shall identify the following information:
(c) If a business entity identified in subsection (b) is a publicly traded company, the following information shall be provided in the Table of Organization, Ownership, and Control:
(d) An Adult Use Cultivation Center with a parent company or companies, or partially owned or controlled by another entity must disclose to the Department the relationship and all owners, board members, officers, or individuals with control or management of those entities. An Adult Use Cultivation Center shall not shield its ownership or control from the Department.
(e) All principal officers must submit a complete online application with the Department within 14 days of the Adult Use Cultivation Center being licensed by the Department or within 14 days of Department notice of approval as a new principal officer.
(f) A principal officer may not allow his or her registration to expire.
(g) An Adult Use Cultivation Center separating with a principal officer must do so under this Act. The principal officer must communicate the separation to the Department within 5 business days.
(h) A principal officer not in compliance with the requirements of this Act shall be removed from his or her position with the Adult Use Cultivation Center or shall otherwise terminate his or her affiliation. Failure to do so may subject the Adult Use Cultivation Center to discipline, suspension, or revocation of its license by the Department.
(i) It is the responsibility of the Adult Use Cultivation Center and its principal officers to promptly notify the Department of any change of the principal place of business address, hours of operation, change in ownership or control, or a change of the Adult Use Cultivation Center's primary or secondary contact information. Any changes must be made to the Department in writing.

(Source: P.A. 102-98, eff. 7-15-21.)