The Cole Memo

In case you missed it, I most recently wrote about how groups that received the “craft grower” license in the state of Illinois have been struggling to cultivate their dreams. I provided a brief overview of cannabis taxation and regulation in Illinois, the article also covered what “craft growers” had to say, the article detailed how many “craft grower” licensees had become operational, and more.

At the time of publication, 11 licensees were operational; as of my latest check, that number has increased to 13.

Recent Operational Approvals for “Craft Growers”

So, since my last article, two additional ‘craft growers’ have received operational approval. You can view or download the latest list of licensees below.

• Flora Arbor LLC
  • According to the Chicago Tribune: Flora Arbor was one of the first companies given an Illinois medical cannabis dispensary license in 2014(FloraMedex). Anthony Carpino, the CEO of Flora Arbor LLC, reportedly said that Flora Arbor’s main investor qualified as a social equity applicant because he/she lives in an area socially impacted by drugs and is a military veteran.
  • From what I found online, “Flora Arbor Group is an established firm with 11 cannabis growing facilities and/or dispensaries in nine states“, but the specific details about these locations are not prominently detailed in available online sources.
  • Based on a job posting that I saw on Glassdoor, Flora is the exclusive licensee for Jim McMahon’s Revenant brand, Napalm by Xzibit, TICAL by Method Man, and Royal Tree by King Louie.
  • I found a press release that indicates that Flora has a licensing deal with Buddies Brand. According to Yahoo Finance: “Buddies Brand has established itself in California, Oregon, and Washington to be a multi-state operator currently selling in over 1,000 dispensaries which include independent stores as well as selling effectively through multi state dispensary operators like Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, and Medmen.”
• Drecisco Farms
  • My online research yielded scant details about Drecisco Farms.
  • I have interviewed Scott Redman many times in the past; Scott was General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer at Drecisco Farms.
    • Here is a link to an episode with Scott Redman
    • Here is another link to an episode with Scott Redman

Edit 4/30/2024: Alisa Brill from Drecisco Farms reached out to me. She mentioned that Drecisco does most of their online marketing under their brand name SweetBuzz. Here is the link to their LinkedIn page – https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreciscofarmsllc. Their website is getsweetbuzz.com. Instagram and Tik Tok handles are @getsweetbuzz. Alisa told me “We are finishing our soft launch to 54 dispensaries with 3 of our skus and our full product line will be available for shipments starting May 13.  We are super excited to bring great tasting products to the Illinois edibles market.”

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Source for numbers on licensees (construction approval/operational approval): PDF list that is uploaded here. The below PDF that was sourced for this article was accessed on 4/29/24.