BARRY, Ill. – Just days after receiving official approval to grow and process recreational cannabis, Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) announced it is ramping up capacity to supply Illinois’ budding cannabis market by January 2020.
Receiving license approval clears the way for AWH to immediately add critical capacity to the Illinois retail cannabis market which is expected to grow between 5-10 times its current size once adult use sales begin on January 1.
“We are honored to be among the first cultivators to receive state approval to supply to the Illinois recreational cannabis market. We continue to progress towards recreational sales and are excited to bring a new line of rigorously tested, high quality products to adults throughout Illinois,” said Ascend Wellness Holdings Founder and CEO Abner Kurtin.
AWH first began supplying Illinois’ medical cannabis market in July of 2019. Since then it has put major investment into building out capacity at its cultivation and processing facilities in Barry, Illinois.
The Barry facility will immediately add 50,000 feet of additional canopy space to the growing market and will produce an exclusive line of high quality cannabis strains that will be processed into a full range of lab tested recreational offerings including flower, oil, concentrates and infused products beginning in 2020.
“Our first priority is always compliance and quality,” said David Jerome, Senior Director of Manufacturing and Supply Chain. “Whether you are shopping for medical or recreational reasons, we want to offer the most reliable products on the market with consistent cannabinoid profiles that consumers can trust.”
Ascend Wellness Holdings plans to officially launch the new brand later this year and begin sales at the company’s retail dispensaries in Springfield and Metro-east as well as select dispensaries across the state on January 1st.
Ascend Wellness Holdings currently operates two dispensaries under the HCI Alternatives brand in Springfield, Illinois and Collinsville, Illinois just outside St. Louis. In 2020, AWH will open two additional adult-use dispensaries in central and metro east Illinois.
About Ascend Wellness Holdings
Ascend Wellness Holdings is a market leading, vertically integrated operator with assets in Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey. AWH is breaking down traditional walls in the legal cannabis marketplace to create a unique, in-store customer experience to put the focus on wellness and inclusivity.
