CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cresco Labs (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF) (“Cresco” or “the Company”), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, announced today that it has received its special use approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals (the “ZBA”) for its dispensary located at 436 N. Clark St. in the prestigious River North neighborhood of Chicago (the “Dispensary”). The Dispensary is one of the two licenses Cresco won in the Central District in Chicago’s lottery, as announced on November 15, 2019, and one of the only two city-approved adult-use dispensaries in downtown Chicago to date. The Dispensary will be Cresco’s sixth Sunnyside* location in Illinois. Cresco has licenses to open an additional four dispensaries and has so far announced its intention to open locations in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago, Danville, Il and South Beloit, Il.

“ Cresco has a long history of being first to market in new jurisdictions. Our ability to execute quickly and efficiently in a highly regulated, complex industry has always been a core strength of the Company. We are proud to have received zoning approval in another step in the process to open an adult-use dispensary in downtown Chicago,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs CEO and Co-founder. “ Earning the right to operate in this highly coveted location is both a privilege and a significant opportunity for Cresco. The Dispensary is minutes from the Magnificent Mile, one of the busiest shopping districts in the United States. On a personal note, it is also minutes from Cresco’s corporate headquarters, and I couldn’t be more excited about Sunnyside* potentially having a flagship dispensary in this neighborhood.”

Despite a limited number of dispensaries open across the state and ongoing supply shortages, the Illinois adult-use market is proving to be as robust as forecasted with $74 million in sales during the first two months1. Illinois is expected to be a $2 - $4 billion dollar market at maturity2. To strengthen its leading market share in the Illinois, Cresco is nearing completion of a significant expansion that will bring total cultivation to 243,000 square feet of cultivation and will considerably increase supply to support its dispensaries and wholesale distribution across the state. Cresco is able to expand its three cultivation facilities to an aggregate total of 630,000 sq. ft. of flowering canopy – the largest capacity footprint allowed in the state3. Cresco currently sells into 100% of licensed dispensaries in Illinois and has maintained its leading market share of wholesale sales in the state.

The final step of the approval process for Cresco’s River North Sunnyside* Dispensary is an inspection by the State of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and being awarded an Adult Use Dispensing Organization License.

About Cresco Labs:

Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically-integrated multi-state cannabis operators in the United States. Cresco is built to become the most important company in the cannabis industry by combining the most strategic geographic footprint with one of the leading distribution platforms in North America. Employing a consumer-packaged goods (“CPG”) approach to cannabis, Cresco’s house of brands is designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and includes some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, Remedi and Mindy’s, a line of edibles created by James Beard Award-winning chef Mindy Segal. Sunnyside*, Cresco’s national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer designed to build trust, education and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco has launched the industry’s first national comprehensive Social Equity and Educational Development (SEED) initiative designed to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge and opportunity to work in and own businesses in the cannabis industry. Learn more about Cresco Labs at www.crescolabs.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, ‘may,’ ‘will,’ ‘should,’ ‘could,’ ‘would,’ ‘expects,’ ‘plans,’ ‘anticipates,’ ‘believes,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘projects,’ ‘predicts,’ ‘potential’ or ‘continue’ or the negative of those forms or other comparable terms. The Company’s forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to those risks discussed under "Risk Factors" in the company’s CSE Listing Statement filed with SEDAR; and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Because of these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the Company’s forward-looking statements. No assurances are given as to the future trading price or trading volumes of Cresco’s shares, nor as to the Company’s financial performance in future financial periods. The Company does not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the Company’s forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, any future event or otherwise. Except as otherwise indicated, this press release speaks as of the date hereof. The distribution of this press release does not imply that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company after the date hereof or create any duty or commitment to update or supplement any information provided in this press release or otherwise.

1 https://www.idfpr.com/

2 Illinois is projected to be a $2-4 billion dollar market at maturity according to Marijuana Business Daily making it one of largest cannabis markets in US.

3 State of Illinois, Department of Agriculture cannabis cultivation licenses