At the beginning of the year, Illinois announced the state sold over $800 million in recreational sales it’s first legalized year alone. The record breaking month, January 2021, saw almost $90 million in sales alone. Now, two months later, March has smashed that record and then some.

March Sales

The total number of recreational cannabis sales in March is $109,149,355. That’s nearly $110 million dollars. In 31 days. There aren’t currently any sales numbers for medical cannabis for March. But they are projected to be around $33 million based on January sales. January saw the second highest sales numbers for the state. 

With these high numbers in sales, tax revenue is pouring into the state. The more sales, the more revenue returns to communities across the state thanks to the R3 program. Standing for Restore, Reinvest, and Renew, R3 funnels tax revenue into communities directly impacted by the racist war on drugs. Additionally, R3 offers grants for organizations help those communities as well as drug education and re-entry programs. 

The first round of R3 recipients received around $31.5 million in grant funding. Once an organization receives funding, they keep track of where the funds go, how they are used, and how the program improves or how many lives are impacted. Then, those organizations report back to the state. The state determines if the organization will receive more funding or if a different program will be sponsored instead. 

Continued Improvements

Illinois continues to lead the charge on cannabis reform. When recreational sales began, the governor also worked with law enforcement for their training and removing/expunging previous records. 

New Years Eve Day, 2020. Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) announced nearly half a million records received expungements or pardons. This is in an effort to pardon the people of Illinois accused of small levels of possession and consumption. It also releases those incarcerated for petty crimes. With their release, prisoner reentry programs are now more important than ever. Some are being funded by recreational cannabis sales tax revenue.

With the solid structure that Illinois has for both recreational and medical cannabis sales, there’s a possibility more states could structure their programs after Illinois. After all, their huge success does speak volumes to citizens and lawmakers alike.

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