Illinois approves 26 businesses to offer safety training to marijuana sellers

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- Illinois has approved 26 businesses to provide mandatory health and safety training to operators of marijuana dispensaries in the state.

The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation released a list of "responsible vendors" on Tuesday to help cannabis sellers meet their training requirement. All marijuana dispensary operators must be trained on properly dispensing cannabis, checking buyers' identification and other health and safety concerns.

Recreational marijuana use becomes legal for adults in Illinois on January 1, 2020.

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The 26 approved training companies are based in Cook, Lake, Kane, DuPage, Will and Sangamon counties and from Iowa, Texas and Florida, according to the department.

The state agency said in a statement that "at least half" of the approved providers are minority-owned. The department also said many of the businesses will offer training online.

All medical cannabis dispensaries that plan to sell recreational marijuana to adults must receive training by Nov. 30. Any other newly hired dispensary agents will need to be trained within 90 days of their hiring date.