IL Governor JB Pritzker announced that the state reached $1 billion in cannabis retail sales on July 1, 2024. This includes more than $850 million in adult-use cannabis sales and almost $150 million in medical cannabis sales, according to a news release.
This milestone was achieved nearly two weeks faster in 2024 compared to 2023, when the $1 billion sales mark was not reached until July 10. Additionally, Fiscal Year 2024 saw total cannabis sales exceed $2 billion, which represents an increase from Fiscal Year 2023 ($1.9 billion) and Fiscal Year 2022 ($1.8 billion), the release states.
“Illinois has the most equitable cannabis industry in the country and it’s growing and thriving,” said Governor JB Pritzker in the release. “The increase in total adult-use cannabis sales, combined with the policies my administration is implementing to support communities ravaged by the War on Drugs, highlights how this emerging industry is helping us set a national standard in equity and economic justice. Growing sales in 2024 means cannabis tax revenue will continue to play a major role in righting decades of wrongs in the state’s criminal justice system.”
Cannabis Sales Data
Data tracked by the Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office shows IL consumers made 81% of the total value of purchases through the first six months of 2024, while out-of-state consumers made 19%. The value of the product sold was 49% cannabis flower, 32% vape and 22% edibles (along with liquid edibles at 1.1.%).
The release also states that tax revenue collected from cannabis sales has led to more than $244 million in R3 Grants for economic development, violence prevention and youth development in disproportionately impacted communities across the state. That revenue also enabled the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to establish the Illinois Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program to connect people and communities historically impacted by arrests and imprisonment for cannabis offenses with opportunities to participate in the legal cannabis industry.
To date, almost $22 million in forgivable loans have been issued to social equity craft growers, transporters and infusers. Currently, 218 dispensaries are licensed with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), according to the release.
“It is imperative barriers are removed to ensure workforces and industries reflect the diversity of the population who calls Illinois home,” said IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. in the release. “We are already seeing the results of our efforts to accomplish this, and I am excited to see what the future holds for the cannabis industry across Illinois.”
