Illinois’ 2021 Cannabis Sales Hit 1$ Billion
The legal cannabis market in Illinois has raked in over one billion dollars’ worth of sales since the start of the year.
According to the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), around $123 million was spent on recreational cannabis in October, pushing the year’s cumulative revenue to around $1.12 billion ($1,120,442,472.78).
The figure already dwarves Illinois’ total cannabis revenue from last year, $669,084,410.12, highlighting the continued growth of the state’s marijuana market.
The majority of this year’s sales have been down to state residents, according to IDFPR data, but out-of-state customers continue to account for around a third of all cannabis sales per month.
Records of medical cannabis sales in the state are recorded separately.
Illinois’ legal recreational cannabis market only opened on January 1, 2020. State residents are allowed to carry up to 30 grams of dried cannabis flower, 5 grams of concentrates, and up to 500mg of THC in an edible form. Non-residents and tourists can purchase up to half as much.
Crucially for the communities who have been disproportionally targeted by prohibitionist laws, the state’s legislation has been described as the “most equity centric piece of cannabis legalization in the country.”
In the first wave of the equity plan, Illinois governor JB Pritzker granted 11,017 pardons to people who had previously been convicted of cannabis possession.
