CHICAGO, June 5, 2020 -PRESS RELEASE- Cresco Labs co-founder Joe Caltabiano has resigned from the company’s board of directors effective immediately. He had left his executive role as president at the company in March but had remained on the board until now.

“As a co-founder of Cresco, I’ll admit it’s difficult to leave after watching Cresco Labs grow to one of the more successful cannabis companies in the United States,” Caltabiano said. “But I feel good knowing the board is in a good position to push the vision forward, especially as cannabis use increases and this essential industry expands.”

Caltabiano co-founded the Chicago-based multi-state operator in 2013 with current Cresco CEO Charlie Bachtell. Caltabiano led the company as president until stepping down this year.

RELATED: Joe Caltabiano Explains Decision to Resign from Cresco Labs

His resignation from both posts at Cresco comes after he led the company to top market-share positions throughout the U.S. during his time there. He also boosted Cresco’s market penetration, sales velocity and brand awareness. He was involved with the company’s development of more than a million square feet of real estate, the design and opening of numerous retail locations, public and private capital campaigns and new market acquisitions.

As a leukemia survivor, Caltabiano helped drive numerous Cresco philanthropic and educational initiatives focused on the fight against cancer. Before founding Cresco Labs, Caltabiano worked in the highly regulated banking industry for 15 years, where he closed more than $2.5 billion in debt transactions.

Illinois regulators have announced the adoption of permanent rules to break ties in the next phase of the state’s cannabis dispensary licensing process, according to a Canton Daily Ledger report.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced that it filed the rules to select cannabis dispensary licensees when applications are tied for the last remaining license or licenses in a specific region, the news outlet reported.

The permanent rules will be available on the department’s website.

IDFPR released emergency rules in December to establish procedures in the event of a tie between applicants, but due to the delay in awarding the licenses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergency rules will expire before licenses are awarded, Canton Daily Ledger reported. The department’s adoption of the permanent rules will ensure the tiebreaker procedures are available when IDFPR does issue its final licenses.

Kansas lawmakers introduced a medical cannabis legalization bill June 3, according to a Business Insurance report.

UPDATE: Kansas Medical Cannabis Bill Stalls in Committee

The legislation, which has eight co-sponsors, provides guidelines for tracking medical cannabis distribution and details the required certifications for health care providers who want to recommend medical cannabis to patients, the news outlet reported.

Patients would be authorized to access a 30-day supply of cannabis at a time, which equates to 4 ounces of dried, unprocessed cannabis, according to Business Insurance.

While the bill does not establish a list of qualifying conditions, it does create a medical cannabis advisory board to oversee the industry, the news outlet reported.

CHICAGO, June 8 2020, (BUSINESS WIRE) -PRESS RELEASE- Cresco Labs, a multi-state cannabis operator based in Chicago, Ill., announced that it has been granted a provisional processing license by the state of Ohio. The license allows Cresco to extract oils and manufacture products from cannabis which will allow Cresco to sell more of its brands Ohio. 

“[Cresco has] established leading positions in Illinois and Pennsylvania, the fifth and sixth most populous states in the country, and we are now substantially increasing our position in Ohio, the seventh most populous state,” said Charlie Bachtell, CEO and co-founder of Cresco Labs. “Our company currently only sells flower into 60% of Ohio’s dispensaries, and we’re excited to introduce our House of Brands and full suite of products, including vape pens, concentrates and edibles, to patients in the state.” 

RELATED: Cresco Labs Completes Expansion of Cultivation and Manufacturing Facility in Pennsylvania