Illinois Benefits More From Cannabis Than Alcohol, Marijuana Tax Outpaces Liquor By Almost $100M In 2021

Over the past year, Illinois took in more tax dollars from cannabis receipts than alcohol, Marijuana Moment reports.

In 2021, recreational cannabis taxes in the Prairie State exceeded liquor taxes by nearly $100 million, according to an update released by the Illinois Department of Revenue that confirmed marijuana taxes outpaced alcohol for the first time in February and kept that pace for the whole year.

Illinois legalized the sale of medical cannabis in 2015 and expanded legalization to recreational marijuana in the general public beginning in 2020.

Record-Breaking Marijuana Sales

Since then, cannabis sales in Illinois soared, smashing records practically every month, with recreational marijuana sales officially exceeding $1 billion in 2021 last month. November was the ninth consecutive month that recreational cannabis sales surpassed $100 million in the state, despite a 2.1% decline from October and 5.6% from the all-time high of $128 million in July.

The state sold roughly $670 million in marijuana in 2020 and took in $205.4 million in tax revenue, according to Marijuana Moment.

State data shows that from January to November 2021, Illinois made about $387 million in marijuana tax dollars, compared to $291 million from liquor sales.

Tax To Fund Equity Initiatives

Earlier this year, the state put aside a chunk of the cannabis tax revenue, some $31.5 million, to support programs created to reinvest in communities most harmed by the drug war. In addition, grants were distributed to 80 organizations.

State officials recently announced that applications are opening for $45 million in new grants, representing the second round of funding to be issued through Illinois' Restore, Reinvest and Renew (R3) program, which was established under the state's adult-use cannabis legalization policy.

Photo: Courtesy of Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels