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CHICAGO (AP) — Dozens of people who want to break into the medical marijuana business in Illinois lined up Monday to file their applications ahead of a 3 p.m. deadline.
Applicants were waiting in line with boxes of documents before the state agencies opened Monday morning, said Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the state's medical cannabis program.
"A lot of applicants waited until today to file," Arnold said Monday. "The applications are voluminous with boxes of documents and even more information on flash drives."
The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture took applications for dispensaries and cultivation centers. The agencies aren't expected to announce how many applications they received until later this week.
The state's new medical marijuana law went into effect Jan. 1, but the first crop can't be planted until permits for growers are issued later this year. The law prohibits patients from growing their own cannabis. Commercial growers will pay a 7 percent privilege tax on their marijuana sales.
Illinois expects to grant up to 21 permits for cultivation centers and up to 60 permits for dispensaries.
For cultivation centers, there is a non-refundable application fee of $25,000 and a first-year registration fee of $200,000.
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Online: Medical Cannabis Pilot Program website: http://mcpp.illinois.gov
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