Legal Cannabis is Approved in Illinois
Last Friday a major move went down in the State of Illinois as recreational marijuana was approved for adult use by legislature. The move is the first time this has happened versus a voting referendum. Earlier this year, we saw New Jersey and New York lose out on recreational pot bills, but in this case, Governor J.B. Priztker promised his signature and a few Chicago-based cannabis companies are ready to go when the sales are expected to kick off in January of 2020.
Illinois Gets Weed!
At the same time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met to talk about the regulations of CBD, which has been a hot topic both in the news and on our website. It was decriminalized in December and many companies are pressing to get CBD foods and other products in stores without irking the FDA and their rules. Online sales of CBD oils are hot as gold, as are CBD gummies, tinctures, and creams that relieve pain. The CBD niche is massive, and it’ll be interesting to see how quickly they move into the mainstream in retail stores.
Each license in Illinois will double the quantity of stores that each license is permitted to operate, moving the needle from five to 10, and anyone already with a dispensary license is already at the front of the line which gives them a solid 6-12 month head start over anyone just getting into the application phase.
Aaron Gray, of Alliance Global Partners, predicted that in just five years, the recreational sales combined with the medical cannabis sales will help the state generate about $2.9 billion for cannabis producers. This will also put other largely populated states on alert, being that Illinois is the 11th state to go the route of recreational.
