A new pilot program that would make medical marijuana available to more people in Illinois is expected to begin this week.

Former Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program (OAPP) into law in August. Currently, the IT system that would implement the program, which includes registration and tracking, is being finalized before the program launches by Jan. 31.

In years past, patients in Illinois could only get medical cannabis if they have one of the pre-approved debilitating conditions, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS or Parkinson’s disease. The new Opioid Alternative Pilot Program would allow people without those conditions to get medical cannabis as well if their doctors are willing to submit a certification.

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ST. LOUIS, Jan. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Oaksterdam University, Green Rush Consulting, and Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM) are partnering to launch the Cannabis Business Licensing Boot Camp (CBLB) program created specifically to help minority- and women-owned businesses prepare to obtain a cannabis business license in Missouri, which overwhelmingly passed Amendment 2 to make medical cannabis legal in the state. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) began accepting pre-filed application fees from interested medical cannabis businesses on Jan. 5, 2019 and expects to have nearly 200 dispensaries throughout Missouri by 2020. DHSS will accept medical cannabis business applications no later than Aug. 3, 2019.

There will be two CBLB Kickoff events scheduled from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CST on Feb. 16, 2019, at University of Missouri St. Louis at 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 17, 2019, at the Tiger Hotel Conference Center in Columbia, Missouri to give an overview about Missouri's licensing process, answer initial frequently asked questions, preview the CBLB instructional curriculum, and meet key medical cannabis experts who will be teaching at the CBLB in April. The CBLB Kickoff event fee is $25.

Aimed at tackling inequity and the lack of minority- and women-owned business operators in the cannabis "plant-touching" space, the CBLB is scheduled to begin in April. This integrative multi-week workshop will be open to 150-200 qualifying business license applicants. Attendees can expect to gain a clear understanding of the licensing process, access Oaksterdam University nationally renowned educational tools and experts, learn key strategies from the experience of multi-state license winners Green Rush Consulting, receive specialized training and resource development through M4MM, gain exclusive access to industry professionals necessary to build businesses that succeed, and access to additional pre- and post license support.

"Minority- and women-owned businesses face onerous hurdles obtaining knowledge, resources, and mentoring as they navigate through the licensing process," says Roz McCarthy, M4MM founder and CEO. "Attending this boot camp will make a significant difference for the better whether applying for a cultivator, manufacturer, and/or dispensary license."