Recreational pot licenses granted to Addison, Rolling Meadows shops
Two more medical marijuana dispensaries in the suburbs have earned state licenses to begin recreational sales to adult-use customers.
Mindful Dispensary in Addison and Nature's Care Company in Rolling Meadows gained licenses Friday from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to sell to customers 21 and older under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
The issuances bring the total number of state-licensed adult-use cannabis dispensaries to 10 in the Northwest and West suburbs and 50 statewide. Forty-eight of the licenses across the state, including all 10 in the suburbs, have gone to existing medical cannabis dispensaries.
Mindful and Nature's Care both have local zoning permission to begin sales to adult-use customers. So do the three suburban dispensaries that began recreational sales Jan. 1: EarthMed in Addison, Verilife in North Aurora and Rise Mundelein.
But three stores in the suburbs don't have local zoning permission to sell to nonmedical customers: Verilife in Arlington Heights, New Age Care in Mount Prospect and 3C Compassionate Care Center in Naperville.
Two others are sorting out location issues.
Sunnyside in Buffalo Grove was granted permission from the village board last month to open a combination medical/recreational dispensary along Milwaukee Avenue, but so far it remains open only for medical patients at its shop on Barclay Boulevard.
Zen Leaf in St. Charles has sought city permission to sell to recreational customers from its existing medical shop at 3714 Illinois St., but discussions have been delayed until March 9.