United States - Illinois, the state of Chicago, said that $ 3,2 million of legal marijuana was sold in the state last Tuesday. It was the first day that weed could be legally purchased for recreational use in Illinois, as a new law came into effect. The new law also ensures that the criminal record and reports of hundreds of thousands of arrested people are deleted.
- Illinois's financial and professional regulation department reported that proceeds were generated from more than 77.000 transactions.
- Cannabis can be purchased without a prescription from a state-approved pharmacy by anyone 21 or older and non-residents are allowed to purchase the drug, but in smaller quantities than residents, according to the new legislation.
- De Chicago Tribune reported that even Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton was seen buying cannabis gummies from a pharmacy and receiving applause from customers when she completed her sale.
- Illinois is the eleventh state (plus DC) that legalizes cannabis in the US, and Bloomberg reported that the state is expected to eventually achieve between $ 2 billion and $ 4 billion in annual sales.
- Governor JB Pritzker from Illinois has also pardoned more than 11.000 people with earlier marijuana convictions as part of the new law. In addition, more than 700.000 people who have been arrested for the drug can also have their data removed deleted.
Key quote: “Wednesday was the end of the ban and the beginning of how we hope to grow a new industry in Illinois,” Toi Hutchison, the state's cannabis czar, told Crain's Chicago Business.
Important background: According to Bloomberg, Illinois is the sixth most populated state of the country and is bordered by states where marijuana is still illegal. The legalization effort of Illinois can encourage those states to follow their own laws. According to analysts, the illegal sale of marijuana in Illinois is expected to exceed legal sales until 2024. However, 30% of the legal sales go to tax revenues for the state, while municipalities receive 3%, according to Crain.
Read more at the Chicago Sun Times (EN), Chicago Tribune (EN), CNN (EN), Forbes (EN)
