Cannabis in Illinois

The state of Illinois set another new record for tax collections on cannabis sales in the month of June, raking in nearly $12 million, according to state officials. The $11,954,246 that Illinois collected in taxes on legalized cannabis in the month of June set a new record for the state, breaking the previous record by nearly half-a-million dollars, according to…

Illinois smashed yet another record in the month of June, with more than $47 million in cannabis sales reported by the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. According to state officials, cannabis sales in June topped $47.6 million, setting a new single-month record in the state. The previous high of $44.3 million was set in the month of May,…

Business is booming for the state’s budding marijuana industry, but plans to help those impacted by the war on drugs have been hampered by the pandemic. NBC 5’s Phil Rogers reports

It was one year ago that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the law legalizing recreational cannabis in Illinois. “We want to make sure that we’re building this market the right way,” Pritzker told his audience that day. “And that there’s ownership spread across communities that have historically not had the opportunity.” When sales began on a very cold New Year’s...

For the first time since the state legalized recreational marijuana, a new cannabis dispensary opened for business in downtown Chicago. NBC 5’s Phil Rogers reports

Not that long ago, if you had told someone that one day legal pot would be sold right off Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, they would have had a quick response. They would have said you were crazy. But that all changed on Thursday. Just six months after recreational cannabis became legal in Illinois, Cresco Labs, which operates under the Sunnyside...

The legal sale of marijuana during Illinois’ first full month of lockdown due to the coronavirus surpassed sales in two previous months, state officials announced Monday.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced a temporary suspension of the May 1 deadline to issue up to 75 new cannabis dispensary licenses. According to a press release, that requirement, codified in the state law that legalized recreational cannabis in Illinois, will be suspended by executive order through the end of the ongoing disaster…

As most of Illinois stays at home to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, cannabis dispensaries remain open in Illinois because the industry is considered essential. At one such dispensary, Nature’s Care in Rolling Meadows, the line stretched out the door on Wednesday afternoon. Customers stood far apart from each other in accordance with state and federal policies...

As most of Illinois stays at home to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, cannabis dispensaries remain open in Illinois because the industry is considered essential. NBC 5’s Chris Coffey has the story.

State officials have once again extended the deadline for applications for certain recreational cannabis business licenses amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order Saturday extending the deadline to submit applications for cannabis infuser, craft grower and transporter licenses from March 30 to April 30, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Agriculture. All…

A dispensary in Chicago has temporarily halted recreational cannabis sales over concerns about customers’ safety.

The cannabis industry received a boost late Friday in Chicago, as the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals approved five applications for businesses seeking to open a satellite location for sales of recreational marijuana. Representatives from the dispensaries answered questions from zoning board members in a session that lasted well into the evening. Cresco Labs, which operates a dispensary in...

Multiple marijuana dispensaries went before Chicago city officials Friday in their quest toward expansion. NBC 5’s Chris Coffey reports.

Some cannabis dispensaries are planning to open more store fronts in Chicago as the legal weed business continues to grow. But at least one group said new pot shops should pledge more benefits to areas disproportionally impacted by the war on drugs. “The only way we can begin to reverse some of the damage the war on drugs has created...

A prime West Loop retail site sits empty, with just a few vestiges of its former longtime incarnation as a popular day care site. Now, some parents are asking questions about reports that the site is under consideration as a marijuana dispensary, and whether that played a role in the sudden conversion. “Come February 19th, we got a letter and…

A prime West Loop retail site sits empty, with just a few vestiges of its former longtime incarnation as a popular day care site. Now, some parents are asking questions about reports that the site is under consideration as a marijuana dispensary, and whether that played a role in the sudden conversion. NBC 5 Investigates’ Phil Rogers has the story.

After a massive first month of legalized cannabis sales in the state of Illinois that saw dispensaries rake in nearly $40 million, brisk sales continued in the month of February. According to totals released by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, total sales for the month of February amounted to just under $35 million. Dispensaries across the state…

The Illinois Department of Revenue is reporting the sale of recreational marijuana in Illinois generated $7.3 million in cannabis tax revenue last month. In addition, the department says an additional $3.1 million was generated in retail sales tax revenue. Dispensaries across the state sold nearly $40 million in recreational pot last month. In his fiscal year 2021 budget released last…

The Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to look at applications for potential new dispensaries to sell recreational weed, according to Block Club Chicago.