Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Applicants must submit all required information, including that required in
Section
1290.50.
Failure by an applicant to submit all required information may result in the
application being disqualified.
b)
If the Division receives an application with missing information, the Division
may issue a deficiency notice to the applicant. The applicant shall have seven
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.
c) The Division will award points to
administratively complete applications based on the clarity, organization and
quality of the applicant's responses to required information. Applicants will
be awarded points according to the following categories:
1) Suitability of the Proposed Dispensary
A) A demonstration that the proposed location
is suitable for public access, the layout promotes safe dispensing of medical
cannabis, it is sufficient in size, power allocation, lighting, parking,
handicapped accessible parking spaces, ADA accessible entry and exits, product
handling, and storage.
B) A
statement of reasonable assurance that the issuance of a registration will not
have a detrimental impact on the community.
2) Security and Recordkeeping
A) The security plan will demonstrate the
capability for the prevention of the theft or diversion of medical cannabis.
The security plan will demonstrate safety procedures for dispensary employees,
patients, provisional patients, OAPP participants and caregivers, and safe
delivery and storage of cannabis and currency. It will demonstrate compliance
with all security requirements in this Part.
B) A plan for recordkeeping, tracking and
monitoring inventory, quality control and other policies and procedures that
will promote standard recordkeeping and discourage unlawful activity. This plan
will include the applicant's strategy to communicate with the Division and ISP
on the destruction and disposal of cannabis.
3) Applicant's Business Plan, Financials and
Operating Plan
A) The business plan shall
describe, at a minimum, how the dispensing organization will be managed on a
long-term basis. This shall include a description of the State verification
system, dispensing organization's point of sale system, Illinois Cannabis
Tracking System, purchases and denials of sale, confidentiality, and products
and services to be offered.
B) The
financial plan shall describe, at a minimum, the source of the $400,000 liquid
asset requirement and the amount and source of the organization's equity and
debt commitment to ensure financial stability, including a demonstration of the
immediate and long-term financial health and resources for the design,
development and operation of the dispensary.
C) The operating plan shall include, at a
minimum, a timetable that provides an estimated time from authorization through
year one of registration and the assumptions used as the basis for those
estimates. It will include best practices for day-to-day dispensary operation
and staffing.
4)
Knowledge and Experience
A) The applicant's
principal officers must demonstrate experience and qualifications in business
management or experience with the medical cannabis industry. This includes
ensuring optimal safety and accuracy in the dispensing and sale of
cannabis.
B) The applicant must
demonstrate knowledge of various cannabis product strains or varieties, and
describe the types and quantities of products planned to be sold. This includes
confirmation of whether the dispensary plans to sell medical cannabis
paraphernalia or edibles.
d) The Division will award bonus points for
preferred, but not required, initiatives based on the applicant's ability to
meet requirements in the following categories:
1) Labor and Employment Practices: The
applicant may describe plans to provide a safe, healthy and economically
beneficial working environment for its agents, including, but not limited to,
codes of conduct, healthcare benefits, educational benefits, retirement
benefits, and living wage standards.
2) Research Plan: The applicant may provide
the Division with a detailed proposal to conduct, or facilitate, a scientific
study or studies related to the medicinal use of cannabis. The applicant may
include in its proposal a detailed description of:
A) The methodology of the study to accurately
assess the effects of cannabis;
B)
The issues to be studied;
C) The
methods that will be used to identify and select study participants;
D) The identity of each person or
organization associated with the study, including the role of each;
E) The duration of the study and anticipated
peer review; and
F) The intended
use of the study results.
3) Community Benefits Plan: The applicant may
provide a description of plans the applicant has to support the local
community, the class of citizens served, or a plan for reduction in product
costs for indigent patients that qualify.
4) Substance Abuse Prevention Plan: The
applicant may provide a detailed description of any plans it will take to
combat substance abuse in its District, including the extent to which the
applicant will partner or work with existing substance abuse
programs.
5) Local
Community/Neighborhood Report: The applicant may provide comments, concerns or
support received regarding the potential impact of the proposed location on the
local community and neighborhood.
6) Environmental Plan: The applicant may
demonstrate an environmental plan of action to minimize the carbon footprint,
environmental impact, and resource needs for the dispensary.
7) Verification of Minority-Owned,
Female-Owned, Veteran-Owned or Disabled Person-Owned Business: The minority,
female, veteran or disabled applicants must own at least 51% of the entity
applying for registration. The percentage totals may include any combination of
minority, female, veteran or disabled applicants. The minority, female, veteran
or disabled applicant must also share in control of management and day-to-day
operations of the dispensary. Documentation must be submitted at the time of
application that demonstrates the respective status of the applicant,
including, but not limited to, certification under the Business Enterprise for
Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act [ 30 ILCS 575 ] for
minority, female or disabled person applicants, or a DD214 for veteran
applicants. For purposes of this subsection, minority, female, and disabled
shall be defined as found in Section 2 of the Business Enterprise for
Minorities, Females, and Persons with Disabilities Act [
30
ILCS 575/2] .
8) Illinois Based Applicants: Documentation
that the applicant's principal place of business is headquartered in Illinois,
including the names, addresses and verification of the applicant's proposed
agents that reside in Illinois. The applicant may also provide a plan for
generating Illinois-based jobs and economic development.
e) The Division may verify information
contained in each application and accompanying documentation to assess the
applicant's character and fitness to operate a dispensary. In addition to the
qualifications required in the Act and this Part, the Division may not grant an
authorization or registration unless it is satisfied that the applicant is:
1) A person of good character, honesty and
integrity;
2) A person whose
background, including criminal record, reputation, habits and social or
business associations, does not discredit or tend to discredit public
confidence and trust in the Illinois medical cannabis industry or the State of
Illinois, or pose a threat to the public health, security, safety, morals, good
order and general welfare of the State of Illinois;
3) A person who does not create or enhance
the dangers of unsuitable, unfair or illegal practices, methods and activities
in the conduct of owning a medical cannabis dispensary;
4) A person who does not present questionable
business practices and financial arrangements incidental to the conduct of
owning a medical cannabis dispensary or otherwise;
5) A person who, either individually or
through employees, demonstrates business ability and experience to establish,
operate and maintain a business for the type of license for which application
is made; and
6) A person who does
not associate with, either socially or in business affairs, or employ, persons
of notorious or unsavory reputation or who have extensive police records, or
who have failed to cooperate with an officially constituted investigatory or
administrative body.
f)
The Division may, in its discretion, refuse to issue an authorization to any
applicant:
1) Who is unqualified to perform
the duties required of the applicant;
2) Who fails to disclose or states falsely
any information called for in the application;
3) Who has been found guilty of a violation
of the Act, or whose medical cannabis dispensary or cultivation center license
was suspended, restricted, revoked or denied for just cause in any other state;
or
4) For any other just
cause.
g) Should the
applicant be awarded an authorization, the information and plans provided in
the application become a condition of the authorization. Dispensing
organizations have a duty to disclose any material changes to the application.
All changes shall be equal to or better than the original information or plans.
Failure to comply with the conditions or requirements in the application may
subject the dispensing organization to discipline, up to and including
suspension or revocation of its authorization by the Division. Revocation of an
authorization shall serve as a final administrative decision by the
Division.
