According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the state sold legal marijuana worth $3.2 million on Tuesday, the first day when marijuana could be purchased legally for recreational use.
The new Illinois law of purchasing marijuana legally could also clear the records of people who have arrest records.
Officials reported that on Tuesday, the cash was generated from more than 77,000 transactions.
According to the legislation, marijuana can be purchased without providing a prescription from any state-approved dispensary by people who are 21 years or above. Nonresidents can also buy the drug legally but in smaller quantities than the state’s residents can.
Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, was also seen buying cannabis gummies from a dispensary, according to the Chicago Tribune. She received applause from customers after completing her purchase.
Illinois is now the eleventh state to legalize marijuana in the United States. The state is expected to earn $2 billion to $4 billion from annual sales, according to Bloomberg.
Illinois Governor Jay Robert Pritzker has also announced that the state would pardon more than 11,000 people with prior marijuana convictions considering the new law. He also said that the state would forgive over 700,000 people who have arrest records associated with marijuana.
Toi Hutchinson, the former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, told Crain’s Chicago Business, “[Wednesday] was the end of prohibition and the beginning of how we how we hope to grow a new industry in Illinois.”
The legalization of marijuana in Illinois could force states that follow suit with their own laws. “Illicit sales of marijuana in Illinois are expected to outpace legal sales through 2024. However, 30% of legal sales will go toward tax revenue for the state, while municipalities get 3%,” according to Crain’s, a weekly business newspaper in Chicago.
