Marijuana license winners in Illinois now compete in ‘Shark Tank’-like scramble to get startup cash September 20, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments In the recent competition for cannabis business licenses in Illinois, Ambrose Jackson’s team struck gold. They won rights to both grow and sell their own cannabis. Jackson is quitting his health care management job to commit full time to becoming… Read More→
Lawyers, race and money: Illinois’ messy weed experiment September 18, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Illinois stood to become a model for diversifying the marijuana industry in other states when it legalized the drug last year. So far, its success is half-baked. As the first state Legislature to legalize recreational cannabis sales after others approved… Read More→
Cannabis smoking lounges off to successful start in Illinois. ‘60- and 70-year-old dudes walking in with their tie-dye.’ September 1, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Cannabis smoking lounges, slow to open in Illinois since marijuana was legalized last year, are starting to get off the ground, as two have opened and more are planned across the state. In addition to bring-your-own marijuana consumption sites operating… Read More→
Bill Creating New Marijuana Dispensary Licenses Clears Illinois House May 27, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Legislation revamping the state’s system for awarding marijuana dispensary licenses passed the House on Tuesday. The measure is meant to address shortcomings in the 2019 Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, specifically in regard to a license lottery that was delayed… Read More→
Illinois to Record $1 Billion Marijuana Sales by Year’s End, Surpassing Liquor May 11, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments llinois is set to record more than $1 billion in sales of adult-use marijuana products this year, with first quarter cannabis tax revenue already surpassing that of alcohol. The state of Illinois, whose lawmakers are eyeing bankruptcy options amid a… Read More→
New cannabis stores, marijuana tours, and protecting pets from pot on Illinois legislative agenda, but social equity remains a big issue March 16, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Plans to create 150 new marijuana stores, allow cannabis tours and make it a crime to get a pet sick from pot are among proposals Illinois lawmakers are expected to consider this spring. The proposed legislation comes as the state’s… Read More→
Illinois’ ex-pot regulators, pols are cashing in on the exploding industry. A proposed crackdown won’t stop all of them. March 10, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments A year after recreational pot sales kicked off in Illinois, legalization has been a boon for the few multimillion-dollar companies granted permission to grow and sell weed and a windfall for local and state governments strapped for cash. But it’s… Read More→
Illinois is on pace to sell over $1 billion in marijuana this year. Here are the February totals. March 5, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments The second year of recreational marijuana sales in Illinois is off to a fast start. Through February, the state generated nearly $170 million in recreational sales, more than double the total from the first two months of 2020, according to the… Read More→
Illinois’ First-Year Legal Marijuana Sales Boomed, But Challenges Remain January 21, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments The line outside the Metro East’s first recreational marijuana dispensary was already long hours before it opened for the first time last January. Hundreds of people packed themselves into a tight metal maze that could barely contain the growing crowd at Ascend in Collinsville.… Read More→
Illinois sitting on $62 million in cannabis revenue meant to foster businesses and help neighborhoods hurt by poverty and violence January 16, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Despite promises that cannabis legalization in Illinois would fund more minority business participation and neighborhood improvements, the state has yet to spend $62 million collected for those purposes. Part of the delay in awarding the money is due to problems… Read More→
North of the border, Wisconsin cops are monitoring the impact of legal recreational marijuana in Illinois January 2, 2021 AggregatedNews Wisconsin 0 Comments Despite dispensaries quickly popping up along Illinois’ northern border after that state legalized recreational marijuana almost a year ago, local law enforcement officials say they have not yet seen any major impacts in Wisconsin. Officials with the Rock County Sheriff’s… Read More→
Illinois’ weed windfall from taxes rivals booze haul — and could surpass it next year December 15, 2020 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Amid skyrocketing demand for legal weed in Illinois, statewide tax receipts from recreational pot sales are now rivaling those from booze. November’s tax revenues from adult-use cannabis, which reflect the record $75.28 million in sales tallied in October, reached nearly… Read More→
Cash-strapped Illinois turning down $100M in pot taxes, industry says November 17, 2020 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments With Illinois facing a nearly $4 billion budget deficit next year, lawmakers and cannabis industry insiders have claimed the state is missing out on more than $100 million in tax revenue by blocking certain pot shops from relocating. While the… Read More→
Downstate judge orders Illinois not to rescore marijuana license applications while controversial issue plays out in court October 29, 2020 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments A court has ordered Illinois officials to hold off on rescoring license applications for recreational marijuana dispensaries, delaying the controversial process for at least a week, records show. State officials agreed to the ruling, which freezes a plan by Gov.… Read More→
Recreational marijuana tax revenue passes $100 million in Illinois October 15, 2020 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Illinois has collected more than $100 million in recreational marijuana tax revenue since legalizing sales on January 1, according to the state’s Department of Revenue. The tax revenue, which includes a cannabis tax, as well as state and local sales taxes, reflects… Read More→