Illinois Trumpets 50% increase in adult pot sales, tax revenue

It’s been a 50-50 year for the adult cannabis program in Illinois. Like a 50% increase in sales and a 50% increase in tax revenue.

The state governor released the numbers Monday in an announcement, saying that Illinois “recorded a 50 percent increase in the overall tax on adult cannabis use, from $297.7 million in fiscal 2021 to $297.7 million.” $445.3 million in fiscal 2022.” as a 50% increase in adult-use cannabis sales, from $1 billion in fiscal 2021 to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2022.

“Illinois has done more to bring equity and justice to the forefront of this industry than any other state in the nation and worked to ensure communities harmed by the War on Drugs had an opportunity to participate.” ‘ Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said in the announcement. “The $1.5 billion in adult-use cannabis sales in Illinois results in significant tax revenue, with a portion of every dollar spent being reinvested in communities that have suffered for decades.”

The announcement states that “cannabis tax payments to local governments saw a significant jump from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022, increasing 77% from $82.8 million to $146.2 million,” under the state’s cannabis law “25 percent of tax revenues from cannabis sales must support communities that are economically distressed, experience high rates of violence and are disproportionately affected by drug crime.”

Illinois’ new cannabis law has become a centerpiece of Pritzker’s first term, with the Democrat running for re-election this year.

Pritzker signed a measure legalizing adult cannabis use in 2019. The state’s regulated cannabis market opened in early 2020.

In January, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) reported that adult-use cannabis sales doubled in 2021, from about $669 million in inaugural 2020 to $1,379,088,278.61 last year Year.

Along with the formation of the regulated market, Illinois’ new marijuana law also focused on remedial action for individuals and communities impacted by the War on Drugs.

When the new law went into effect in early 2020, Pritzker celebrated by issuing more than 11,000 pardons to non-violent cannabis offenders.

“We’re ending the 50-year war on cannabis,” Pritzker said at the time. “We are restoring the rights of tens of thousands of Illinoisans. We bring regulation and security to a previously unsafe and illegal market. And we are creating a new industry that puts justice at the center.”

Last month, Pritzker announced plans to issue 185 new cannabis dispensary licenses with a particular focus on non-white applicants.

“Today marks the beginning of the next chapter of the fairest adult cannabis program in the country,” Pritzker said in announcing plans for the lottery. “Having enacted the most justice-oriented program in the country, overturned thousands of low-level cannabis convictions, and invested tens of millions of dollars in cannabis proceeds in communities disrupted by the War on Drugs, we are about to… to more than double the number of adult cannabis dispensaries in Illinois. This means myriad more opportunities for communities that have suffered from historic disinvestment to join this growing industry and ensure their makeup reflects the diversity of our state.”

In Monday’s announcement, Pritzker’s office said that “the state has awarded $113.5 million in grants to date, using funds from taxes on adult cannabis sales to help underserved communities through the Illinois Criminal Justice’s Restore, Reinvest.” Information Authority to support and invest and Renew (R3) program.”