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:
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