While Illinois’ cannabis market is booming and the state has made progress in diversifying new licensees, significant hurdles remain for businesses hoping to enter the expanding market, according to an independent review of the industry. Celebratory news releases have marked several industry successes in recent months – the state saw the opening of its 100th social […]
D. Raju
Dilprett Raju has a master's degree from Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with widespread interests in community storytelling, research and climate coverage.
Posted inArticles
Stakeholders work on cannabis equity efforts
Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers. Illinois legalized medicinal marijuana beginning in 2014, then legalized it for recreational use in 2020. While the […]
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Trying to hire more drug counselors
Amid five straight years of record overdose deaths in Illinois, a new state program aims to alleviate a shortage of professionals who work to prevent substance use disorders. Illinois’ behavioral health counselor workforce “is aging while new entrants are declining,” according to a 2019 report to the General Assembly; 56% of certified substance use disorder […]