Recreational Marijuana Sales In Illinois Nearing $20 Million In First Two Weeks

 Posted on January 17, 2020 in Drug Charges

We expected that recreational marijuana sales would boom in the first few weeks of 2020, but even we didn’t expect that number to approach $20 million in sales.

Recreational marijuana became legal to purchase in Illinois on January 1 of this year, and in the first 12 days of legalization the state has done nearly $20 million in sales, including $13 million in the first week. Compared to the other eight states in the US that allow recreational marijuana, only California had more sales in its first week with nearly $15 million in sales. There’s a good chance that Illinois would have outpaced California if not for the fact that some dispensaries were forced to shut down sales because of a shortage of product in the first week.

Not surprisingly, sales peaked the first day that recreational marijuana use became legal, as people lined up for blocks in some areas to purchase the plant. Illinois did nearly $3.2 million in sales on the first day. Here’s a closer look at some statistics from the first 12 days of legal sales:

• Dispensaries logged a total of 495,385 unique transactions in the first 12 days.
• The average purchase price per user was about $40.
• Totale sales came in at $19,709,345.10.
• There were 77,128 total transactions on January 1, the highest of any day so far.

Recreational Marijuana Lawyer In Illinois

However, just because you can legally purchase and smoke marijuana recreationally in Illinois doesn’t mean that you’re free and clear to use how you please. It’s still a crime to possess more than 30 grams of marijuana, and charges range from a misdemeanor to a felony depending on the size of your stash, so don’t overstock. Non-residents in Illinois are only allowed to possess up to 15 grams of marijuana.

It’s also a crime to sell marijuana unless you’re a state-licensed dispensary, so if you think you’ll buy marijuana legally and resell it to make a profit, know that you can face criminal charges, and these penalties will be increased if you’re caught selling on school grounds. Finally, you can also face charges for driving under the influence of marijuana or for growing your own marijuana plants unless you’re certified to do so under the state’s medical marijuana program.

Simply put, there are still plenty of rules and regulations that need to be followed even though marijuana has been legalized in Illinois. We expect to see an influx of calls from prospective clients about driving under the influence of marijuana charges as well as for more minor citations like unlawful possession or smoking in public. Make sure you stay up to date on the latest regulations, and give our team a call if you or someone you know needs marijuana-related legal help. Call us day or night at (630) 717-7801.