Illinois officials have proposed changing the state’s cannabis cultivation rules in a major policy reversal to allow for outdoor grows, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Under the proposed rule change, outdoor cannabis flower would only be allowed to be used for extraction purposes — cannabis flower products would remain indoor-only.

Previously, the Illinois Department of Agriculture said the state’s requirement that cannabis needs to be grown in an “enclosed, locked” facility prohibited outdoor cultivation. But the agency is changing its tune following multiple legal challenges from licensed cultivators.

The new rule would allow licensed operators to grow outside of their existing facilities, although outdoor crops would need to be sectioned off with a chain-link fence and additional security measures.

Scott Redman, founder of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association, told the Tribune that the change would be a “game changer” for small growers.

“For those operating, it allows a faster and more economical route to expanding to the full (state limit of) 14,000-square-foot canopy. For the projects still in design, it can mean that one need not spend millions on lighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation and cooling) if it is outside the budget … This is a significant step forward for the industry as far as I am concerned.” — Redman, via the Tribune

In Illinois, only registered medical cannabis patients can grow their own cannabis at home.

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A Connecticut cannabis cultivator is seeking permission to sue the state for $1 million, claiming the changing policies of the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) caused the business to lose $750,000, CT Insider reports. Affinity Grow claims DCP’s shifting rules led to the grower having to recall 17 lots of products and is asking the state claims commissioner for permission to sue rather than just have the commissioner award damages.  

In the claim, Affinity contends that DCP didn’t administer the state’s cannabis regulations in a “competent, predictable and professional manner,” and that the agency issued unclear and conflicting testing policies that punished Affinity for following previously accepted practices. 

Affinity alleges that DCP failed to explain a critical part of changes to how laboratories select cannabis for final-form testing before they are sold – whether a lab employee had to select which item would be tested or also had to physically remove that item from the larger batch. Affinity said, in their case, a laboratory worker chose the sample and directed an Affinity employee to pick it up and hand it to the lab worker, which was the previously accepted procedure, according to the claim. DCP claims that the lab worker had to physically pick up the sample as well. 

Affinity claims DCP did not clearly communicate the process and ultimately found Affinity had violated the regulations, and forced it to recall 17 lots connected to that sampling process. 

Further, Affinity claims DCP was negligent in its supervision of the former director of the agency’s Drug Control Division, claiming that an unannounced inspection in March 2025 was potentially retaliatory because Affinity’s president had testified before the legislature’s General Law Committee about the company’s frustrations with cannabis testing rules. Lawmakers objected to the timing of the inspection and DCP Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli ultimately concluded the inspection had damaged the agency’s relationship with the cannabis industry and created a “potential chilling effect” on public testimony. 

The state claims commissioner has already rejected the state’s attempt to dismiss the case. A hearing is set for November 3 that will determine whether Affinity can bring its claims to the state Superior Court.  

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