Recreational Cannabis Information

Background

On June 25, 2019 Governor Pritzker signed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (CRTA) which legalizes the sale, possession, and use of cannabis for recreational purposes in limited quantities by persons 21 years and older, beginning January 1, 2020. The Act sets tax rates on both wholesale transactions by cultivators and retail sales by dispensaries. CRTA also authorizes counties and municipalities to impose local taxes on retail sales up to 3%.

The Recreational Cannabis Act itself prohibits a new cannabis dispensary from locating in close proximity of another dispensary or certain protected uses. Municipalities may prohibit or significantly limit the location of recreational cannabis businesses by ordinance. On October 23, 2019 the Village Board approved ordinance 19-O-79 which prohibited the sale of recreational cannabis within the Village.

Current Request
In January 2026, an applicant brought forward a request for an amendment to the Village's codes to allow recreational cannabis dispensaries. The text amendment application was also accompanied by a special use permit request to allow a recreational cannabis dispensary at 1195 S Milwaukee Avenue with certain limitations. The applications are under review by the Village. The applicant will come before the Plan Commission/Zoning Board of Appeals for initial discussion and consideration at 7 PM on February 9 at the Libertyville Civic Center, 135 W Church St.  The recommendation of the Commission will be forwarded to the Village Board of Trustee for their review and action.  The initial submittal material before the Commission may be found at this link, note supplementary materials may be provided at a later date.  The process for public comment may be found here. 
Additional Information