Illinois named 55 winners of a social equity lottery for conditional marijuana store licenses Thursday, even as most previous license winners have yet to raise enough money to open.
Under a new simplified, online application process, the conditional winners announced this week must prove their eligibility under criteria that include coming from an economically disadvantaged area or having a prior low-level cannabis conviction, either personally or in their immediate family. Victims of gun violence are also eligible.
The “social equity” criteria are meant to help diversify the industry by attracting people of color who were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.
But many social equity license holders haven’t been able to raise enough money to open. While the state awarded 192 new licenses in 2022, only 27 social equity-owned stores have opened.
The other 110 licensed pot stores in the state were given to previous medical marijuana license holders, a group made up almost exclusively of white men.
The latest lottery drew nearly 2,700 applicants, showing demand for the businesses is far higher than the capacity set by the state.
Recreational marijuana stores in Illinois took in $136 million in June, a slight increase from the same month last year.
rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com
