ILLINOIS (WAND) – Over $10.8 million of marijuana was sold statewide in the first five days of adult-use legalization, the state announced Monday.
In total, there were 271,169 transactions at dispensaries statewide during that time, with sales reaching an exact amount of $10,830,667.91. The highest sales happened on Jan. 1, when they reached $3,176,256.71. That day had the most transactions with 77,128.
A full chart of day-by-day sales from Jan. 1-5 is attached to this story.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration said it will designate 25 percent of revenues from the cannabis sales tax to the Restore Reinvest and Renew (R3) Program, which is meant to help address results of economic disinvestment, violence and the historical overuse of the criminal justice system in Illinois. Estimates of results are expected to be available from the Department of Revenue in late February, when dispensaries are required to submit initial tax payments.
“The successful launch of this new industry is a historic development for our state that will benefit the very communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the failed war on drugs,” said Toi Hutchinson, senior advisor to the governor for cannabis control. “As we move into the next phase, the Pritzker administration is proud to see the robust interest in dispensary ownership from social equity applicants, and we encourage them to apply for $30 million in loans that we have available to reduce the capital barriers to entry. Unlike any state in the nation, Illinois has set the standard for what it means to legalize cannabis in a way that begins to right the wrongs of the past and gives new opportunity to those that have been left behind for far too long.”
Preliminary results from the first round of dispensary license applications showed there were over 700 applicants seeking close to 4,000 licenses. Over 600 of those identified themselves as qualifying for social equity applicant status, a press release from the Pritzker administration said.
Those who apply for social equity applicant status can claim a low-cost loan and have 180 days to decide a physical location for where to open a dispensary. Social equity applicants also have 20 percent of the points that can awarded during application scoring available to them and can get a 50 percent waiver on application and license fees, which are non-refundable.
By May 1, the state expects to announce up to 75 new dispensary licenses.
More information about early marijuana sales numbers can be found online here.
