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.
According to sales data from 2024, published by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Illinois’ legal cannabis industry has already sold over half a billion dollars worth of adult-use cannabis products this year (data from January thru April).
Illinois breaks down adult-use sales by in-state residents and out-of-state residents, and so far in 2024 over 22% of recreational cannabis sales involved out-of-state adult residents. It is worth noting that historically Illinois is one of the most popular states for tourists in the U.S.:
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.
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.