When medical marijuana sales began in Illinois in 2014, cannabis firms typically chose unobtrusive buildings, sometimes hidden away in industrial parks, to sell the controversial product.
Almost 10 years later and with recreation weed now legal in the state, cannabis has become big business. Dispensaries are moving from the out-of-the-way buildings where they started into some of the hottest retail corners in both city and suburbs. National companies have swept in to buy local dispensaries, fueling further expansion and helping create multistate operators worth billions.
But amid all the moneymaking, one group is being shut out.
