Recreational marijuana going on sale in Illinois this year has been epic. Thousands of people have lined up, some overnight, as they waited to be among the first to buy recreational marijuana in the state earlier this year.
Despite coronavirus, people in the state have been buying up a lot of marijuana. 80 recreational cannabis dispensaries have opened in Illinois and business is on pace to top $1 billion in 2020, including medical marijuana sales.
Next year could be an even bigger year as more municipalities will welcome weed retailers and 30 dispensaries have yet to open under the state’s inaugural legislation.
There is also a planned lottery to award 75 new recreational licenses which is likely to move forward after the state agreed to give hundreds of unsuccessful applicants a second chance to qualify.
“The consumer segment grows by the ‘canna-curious,’ those that haven’t tried cannabis or need to be introduced to regulated products, becoming active consumers — not by existing customers upping the amount they are now consuming,” said Jason Erkes, spokesman for Chicago-based Cresco Labs.
On day one of recreational sales started back on January 1st, there were 37 dispensaries open for business across the state. That total more than doubled during the course of the year.
Paul Isaac, a spokesman for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, which regulates dispensaries in the state has said that Illinois has licensed 80 adult-use dispensaries as of this week.
The state made almost $106 million in combined recreational and medical marijuana sales in November, topping $913 million with one month to go in its first year of adult-use cannabis sales, according to the state.