* This is really getting intolerable. Tribune…

A legal battle over cannabis business licensing in Illinois could overturn the state’s residency requirement, throwing a wrench into the already dysfunctional process and attempts to diversify the industry.

The litigation is just the latest in a series of lawsuits that have kept much of the state’s legal cannabis industry in limbo. But there are signs the logjam may be breaking.

A Cook County judge in another case has indicated she may lift a court injunction against issuing 185 pending recreational store licenses and hold a corrective lottery to remedy complaints about the licensing process. State officials also plan to issue 55 new licenses using a new streamlined process.

But this new federal case could jeopardize that. At issue is whether the state can favor license applicants who live in Illinois. Federal courts have struck down similar requirements in Maine, Michigan and Missouri, potentially opening licensing to much greater competition nationwide.

* But this story is from last month…

An Illinois federal judge said Friday that it appears that the statute laying out Illinois’ licensing process for cannabis dispensaries probably does violate the dormant commerce clause of the U. S. Constitution, but questioned the “sweeping relief” sought by two men claiming the state discriminates against out-of-state residents. Juan Finch Jr. , who moved to Chicago in December, and Pennsylvania resident and cannabis investor Mark Toigo want U. S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer to block the state from issuing the 185 conditional licenses it has allotted so far in three separate lotteries and require regulators to rerun the licensing process without the residency requirements.

* Brenden Moore a couple of weeks ago…

Cannabis Business Association of Illinois executive director Pamela Althoff summed up the state of the state’s legal recreational-use cannabis industry in one word: “Halted.” […]

“With the legal battles ongoing and the temporary restraining order placed on dispensaries, we’ve halted any real growth and advancement of the cannabis industry in Illinois,” Althoff said.

This has left lottery winners, many of whom have invested significant funds in their bids for licenses, in limbo while also delaying the diversification of what is still a nearly all-white and all-male industry on the dispensary side. […]

The diversity numbers would likely stand to improve significantly once licenses are given out as all those who have applied in the latest rounds are considered social equity candidates.

There’s evidence of this on the cultivation side. Last year, the Illinois Department of Agriculture awarded its first 40 craft grow licenses and 32 infuser licenses along with several transporter licenses.

This led to an increase in non-white majority-owned licensees on that side of the industry from zero to 44%. After the resolution of a court case last month, an additional 60 craft grow licenses could be awarded in the coming days or weeks.

* One problem is the “supercase” judge appears to be overwhelmed…

An Illinois judge Friday pushed dozens of unsatisfied cannabis dispensary license applicants towards a corrective lottery before hearing arguments on whether or not they deserve to participate in the application process and told litigants that she expects the case to last through the end of the year and possibly into late 2023.

“This case will never conclude by 2022, you’ll be lucky if it concludes 18 months following that. There would not even be a ruling on merits for many, many months. If not years out,“ said Cook County Circuit Court Judge Cecilia Gamrath. “I want those plaintiffs to understand that reality. If any plaintiff is thinking they will get a ruling in three months.”

Judge Gamrath’s pronouncement was part of a four hour hearing in the state’s dispensary “supercase”, a consolidation of 67 plaintiffs from across Illinois ordered by the state Supreme Court. The supercase deals with applicants who contend their applications were either mishandled by the state or barred from participating in the application process. [Emphasis added.]

* Good points by Rep. Tarver…

State Rep. Curtis Tarver says Illinois erred in the first place when it passed the cannabis legalization law. He said he said drafters were ultra-cautious about not wanting to invite lawsuits by giving too much priority in the license application process based on social equity and racial qualifications.

Instead, it’s those who can least afford it who are beset by litigation. He said there’s little legislators can do while various lawsuits wind their way through the courts.

“I don’t know that we ultimately will legislate our way out of this,” Tarver said. “The original 678-page bill was so flawed, I’m not sure that there’s legislative solutions. There was a lot of concern initially when I was in conversations and trying to push back on some of these things, about their being litigation if we went too far as far as providing equity. And now we’re in a situation where there’s litigation regardless. And the people often who can least afford to be litigated are the ones fighting for their opportunities.”

Once the courts weigh in, he said Illinois can make more moves.

* Related…

* Over 15,000 Total Cannabis Convictions in Illinois to Be Expunged, Kim Foxx Announces

* Belleville expects proposed marijuana dispensary to be big revenue producer for city