The marijuana growing permits have been printed and are ready for pickup, a state spokeswoman says.
The state’s movement on the permits comes after a company suing the state was granted a temporary legal victory in part because the marijuana permits had not been officially handed out, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The state spokeswoman, Kristi Jones, would not comment on the timing, but she said in an email, “The cultivation center permits are printed and ready for pick-up at the Illinois Department of Agriculture in Springfield.”
Last week, Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Kennedy granted a temporary restraining order preventing the state from officially licensing Cresco Labs LLC, which has won a permit to grow marijuana in the Kankakee area. The order came after PM Rx, a company that lost out on the permit sued, alleging the state didn’t follow its own application requirements when determining Cresco as the winner.
As predicted, another applicant that lost out filed a lawsuit making the same allegations. White Oak Growers LLC and PM Rx are both represented by attorney John Rooks and both companies lost out to Cresco Labs, which was awarded three growing permits throughout the state.
In a statement, Cresco officials said, “The PM Rx lawsuit is baseless and clearly lacks evidence of any wrong doing on the part of the State or Cresco Labs. The White Oak Growers lawsuit appears to be a copycat, and another example of groundless legal maneuvering by a disappointed applicant, based on many of the same unreliable allegations, that will result in costly delays in bringing medical cannabis to Illinois patients.”
A Cresco spokeswoman confirmed the company had picked up its permits to grow in Joliet and Logan County. The temporary restraining order means it can’t yet pick up its Kankakee permit.
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The state has appealed the temporary restraining order.
In court documents, it has said the allegations in the lawsuit are baseless.
