Illinois Launches Cannabis Research Institute With $7M In Funding

Gov. JB Pritzker, University of Illinois System president Tim Killeen, cannabis researchers and other government officials launched the Cannabis Research Institute (CRI) with a focus on advancing the public's understanding of the scientific and socio-economic impacts of cannabis use and production.

"The Cannabis Research Institute will use innovative research and data collection to deepen our understanding of cannabis and help shape the industry’s future, better inform the public, and develop policies for consumer protection, economic and community development, and equity," Pritzker said. The initiative is being funded by money from legal cannabis sales in Illinois.

The CRI is a collaborative effort between the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago and the University of Illinois System. Announced in 2022, it is housed within the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and received $7 million in funding in 2024 from the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). The funding will be allocated over three years to support research, education, and a deeper understanding of the impacts of cannabis use on individuals and communities.

Dulce M. Quintero, secretary-designate of the Illinois Department of Human Services, said CRI will also provide data to help policymakers develop informed, equitable cannabis strategies in Illinois in the coming years.

Read Also: Illinois Cannabis Sales Are Down In Q1, But Year-On-Year Figures Are Up, Analyst Says: Cresco Labs, Green Thumb, Curaleaf Must Adapt

• Get Benzinga's exclusive analysis and the top news about the cannabis industry and markets daily in your inbox for free. Subscribe to our newsletter here. If you're serious about the business, you can't afford to miss out.

Pritzker reflected on the progress Illinois has made since legalizing cannabis, noting that the state has transformed from criminalizing cannabis use to building a successful industry.

"At the time I was elected, we were allowing people to be held criminally liable — and inequitably so — for consuming cannabis.” Pritzker said. “Just five years later, we have one of the most orderly and successful cannabis industries, and we are launching a research institute – funded by the legal sale of that same plant – that will accelerate the transformation of that old, unfair, unjust system into a vehicle for community revitalization."

CRI will engage with communities through events planned for the upcoming winter and spring. It also opened a new laboratory recently in a former COVID-19 testing facility in Chicago to serve as its temporary research base.

Cannabis In Illinois

Illinois’ retail cannabis sales in 2024 reached the $1 billion mark this July. This coincided with the opening of its 100th social equity-owned cannabis dispensary and release of a state-commissioned disparity study proclaiming Illinois as having the "most diverse cannabis business ownership in the nation."

As of September 2024, the smell of burnt cannabis alone does not give police officers the right to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle according to Justice P. Scott Neville Jr.'s recent unanimous opinion.

But, it all started when The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act was enacted in 2020 legalizing adult-use marijuana. The policy change was years in the making and very carefully planned out.

Read Next:

• With 200+ New Dispensaries And Four States Voting On Legalizing Cannabis, Could Market Expansion Squeeze Margins Further?