ROCKFORD — Five medical cannabis dispensaries in Illinois have the green light to sell recreational marijuana as of Jan. 1, and at least one medical dispensary here hopes to jump into the recreational pot business as well.

The dispensaries granted licenses to begin recreational cannabis sales in the new year are located in Mundelein, Joliet, Naperville, Canton and Effingham, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced Thursday.

Mapleglen Care Center, 4777 Stenstrom Road, is also planning to sell recreational cannabis, according to the dispensary’s Chief Operating Officer Amy Manganelli.

“We have indeed applied and we await the state’s decision on our application,” Manganelli said.

A call to MedMar Dispensary, 2696 McFarland Road, was referred to the dispensary’s owner, Cresco Labs, which did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

In Grown Farms near Freeport is also primed to enter the recreational marijuana market.

The business, which includes an 80,000-square-foot building and a smaller, 2,800-square-foot structure in the Mill Race Crossing industrial park, has been cultivating marijuana for medical use.

“We are excited to participate in the adult-use program if afforded the opportunity,” said Jake Coward, general manager of Illinois operations for Acreage Holdings, which purchased In Grown Farms at the beginning of the year.

The licenses issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation will permit the dispensaries to begin recreational cannabis sales at their existing locations starting Jan. 1, provided the dispensaries comply with local zoning rules or other local laws.

Illinois has 55 medical marijuana dispensaries that were able to apply to sell recreational cannabis from their existing locations.

In addition to opening adult-use dispensaries at the same site of their medical cannabis dispensaries, existing dispensaries are permitted to open a second site for adult use at a different location.

Mapleglen Care Center has applied for a same-site license, according to Manganelli.

“We’ll have separate entrances for adult use and medicinal patients,” she said.

As of Jan. 1, state law permits Illinois residents to legally possess up to 30 grams of cannabis flower, up to 500 mg of THC in a cannabis-infused product and up to five grams of cannabis concentrate. Nonresidents will be permitted to legally possess up to 15 grams of cannabis flower, up to 250 mg of THC in a cannabis-infused product and up to 2.5 grams of cannabis concentrate.

The totals are cumulative, meaning a person 21 years of age or older may possess a combination of cannabis flower, cannabis-infused products and cannabis concentrates up to the limit for each category of product.

There may be additional hurdles to clear for local dispensaries wishing to enter the recreational marijuana business.

“The city of Rockford is not required to affirmatively permit the sale of cannabis under the legislation, but it can regulate cannabis businesses through amendments to our zoning ordinances,” city of Rockford Strategic Communications Manager Laura Maher said in an email. “We anticipate issuing a zoning determination letter next week regarding the possibility of the retail sale of recreational cannabis and commercial grow operations in certain zoning districts under our current code of ordinances.”

Interest in recreational cannabis sales is running high, Manganelli said.

“We’ve had hundreds of phone calls from people from Wisconsin and Iowa inquiring about recreational marijuana sales,” she said.

Ken DeCoster: 815-987-1391; kdecoster@rrstare.com; @DeCosterKen