The state of Illinois seems to be doing legal cannabis correctly. When Illinois legalized cannabis, the state introduced a number of racial equity provisions that would begin to undo some of the harm caused by the racist war on drugs—focusing on expungements and pardons for low-level cannabis offenses and providing those in the state with assistance to get their records expunged. At the same time, legal cannabis in Illinois has more than lived up to this promise as a major economic booster.
According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the state sold a little more than $669 million in recreational cannabis. Along with its medicinal cannabis sales which were at $331 million through November, this puts the 2020 cannabis sales at more than a billion dollars—and counting (December medicinal cannabis sales have not yet been released).
