Marijuana Sales In Illinois Increases In April, with An Approximate Total Of $132 Million Of Marijuana Sales

The state of Illinois reached its second yet highest monthly sales – since its launching of marijuana market – in April, with a sales of nearly $132 million. This also comes to affirm the fact that the state is stabilizing following its dip at the beginning of 2022.

The state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) reported to the press how sales in adult-use cannabis reached almost $91 million from its consumers, and $41 million in out-of-state visitor, a total of 3,102,233 marijuana items got sold in April indicating a rebound in its market as compared to sales at the beginning of the year.

This sales has no inclusion of medical cannabis products as a different state agency was responsible for its sales report.

Illinois saw its highest sales in cannabis in December with a sales record of $137, 896,859. Though the state broke its yearly sales record in 2021 – with a total of more than $1.4 billion in cannabis sales – more anticipated in 2022.

The state’s data for adult-use cannabis sales in Illinois shows an almost addition of $100 million in tax revenue, when compared with alcohol. Though marijuana sales rose in April 2021 when compared with the prior months, as compared to May and the rest of 2021 sales increasing, sources are unsure of the cause of dip at the beginning of 2022, nor its strong rebound by April. But the 04/20 cannabis holiday, which took place in April may have been the rising factor.

Illinois has utilized part of its marijuana tax revenue to fund equity initiatives in the state as a whole. By December 2021, officials announced an open application for $45 million in new grants to be reinvested into support programs for communities threatened by the drug war. This was funded by the cannabis tax money and so will subsequent ones.

This would be the second round of funding issued through the state’s R3 program – Restore, Reinvest, Renew – which had been established under the state’s adult-use marijuana legalization policy. This policy demanded 25% of marijuana tax dollars to be invested in those programs, to be used to provide disadvantaged persons with basic services like legal aid, financial support, community reentry, and youth development.

For the continual activity of these services, communities that benefit from these grants through the initial R3 round have their funding renewed through the organizations that provide these services for another year.

In an effort to reduce the advent of violence on the street, state officials invested $3.5 million generated from cannabis to fund street intervention programs, by last year’s July. Also, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced his office’s intention to provide more than 500,000 expungements and pardons for persons with low-level marijuana convictions on their necks, in an effort to support the state’s tax dollar funding.

Residents with cannabis conviction are also provided with legal aids including other services to have their records expunged by a recently established state-funded initiative.

Previous cannabis advisor to Pritzker, Toi Hutchinson told the press that she’s most proud of her transition from cannabis advisor to president of the national advocacy group of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).

Away from the state of Illinois, adult-use marijuana sales in New Jersey has launched its market, and the very first day that retailers made purchases of almost $2 million.

State data has marijuana sales in Colorado dipping so far since the beginning of 2022.

In March, Michigan officials released an announcement to distribute approximately $150 million in tax revenue to sectors like localities, transportation funds and public schools.

The state of Massachusetts has collected more tax revenue from the two marijuana sectors than alcohol, according data released from the state’s desk in January. Halfway through its fiscal year in December 2021, the state took $74.2 million from cannabis and $51.3 million from alcohol.

Arizona has released data of receiving more tax revenue from legal marijuana sales than tobacco and alcohol combined in March.

In summary, all the states that have legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational use have generated over $3.7 billion in tax revenue in 2021, MPP reports.

Going back home to Illinois, lawmakers have recently passed a bill to the governor that would persuade the court to not deny petitions to expunge or seal records of positive tests for marijuana.

A separate house bill concerning workplace protections for employee consumers of cannabis has initially been stalled in the Senate before the chamber adjourned the session.