Illinois became the 11th state to adopt a statewide adult-use cannabis legalization measure on June 25, 2019, when Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 1438. The legislation provided for the eventual legal sales of adult-use cannabis products through licensed dispensaries.
On January 1, 2020, the first legal adult-use cannabis purchase was made in Illinois, and since that time the state’s legal cannabis industry has made a considerable amount of sales and generated a significant amount of tax revenue.
In early May 2024, Governor Pritzker’s administration issued 35 new cannabis dispensary licenses.
“Conducted in July 2023, all 35 applicants issued a conditional license met social equity criteria under the Social Equity Criteria Lottery’s administrative rules. The list of today’s 35 selected awardees and the next steps for the conditional license period are available on IDFPR’s Adult Use Cannabis webpage. An additional 13 conditional licenses are also expected to be issued soon, for a total of 48 new conditional licensees.” Governor Pritzker’s office stated in a press release.
“There are currently 202 adult use cannabis dispensaries in Illinois, including 92 social equity dispensaries that have opened their doors.” the press release also stated.
Illinois taxes adult-use cannabis products based on their THC content, with higher THC percentages corresponding to higher taxes, up to 25%. Cannabis products can also be subject to state (6.25%), county (1.75%), city (1.25%) and special (1%) taxes. In March 2024 alone, the legal Illinois adult-use cannabis industry topped $148 million in sales.
Total legal cannabis sales in the United States are expected to reach $31.4 billion in 2024 according to a recent analysis by Whitney Economics. Additionally, leading cannabis jobs platform Vangst, in conjunction with Whitney Economics, estimates that the legal cannabis industry now supports 440,445 full time-equivalent cannabis jobs in the United States.
Whitney Economics also projects the following legal cannabis sales figures in the United States for the coming years:
- 2024: $31.4 billion (9.1% growth from 2023)
- 2025: $35.2 billion (12.1% growth from 2024)
- 2030: $67.2 billion
- 2035: $87.0 billion
The emerging legal cannabis industry in the United States is projected to add roughly $112 billion to the nation’s economy in 2024 according to a newly released analysis by MJBiz Daily. The projection is part of the company’s 2024 MJBiz Factbook.
“The total U.S. economic impact generated by regulated marijuana sales could top $112.4 billion in 2024, about 12% more than last year,” MJBiz stated in its initial reporting.