Not everybody in the cannabis business is hitting the jackpot

Posted on April 24, 2023
Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association executive director Lisbeth Vargas Jaimes says state leaders need to think about “social equity” licenseholders. (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Not everybody in the cannabis business is hitting the jackpot. Craft growers say they have millions tied up in licenses which have yet to generate money. The growers blame aggressive regulations.

Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association executive director Lisbeth Vargas Jaimes says state leaders need to think about “social equity” licenseholders. She says the term social equity has long been “a catch-all, as opposed to really understanding the operators who are investing their livelihood into this market that has yet to become operational for them. And make no mistake: these licenses aren’t going to go anywhere. SE operators will be forced to sell or lose a lot of their equity. We cannot let that happen. That is not the spirit of the industry we are promised.”

One grower with Jaimes at a Capitol news conference said a business which required a $5-10 million investment at the beginning has a license which today would sell for just $1 million.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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