Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

25 © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. State-By-State: Legal Overview, Market Data and Outlook | Chapter 2 MJBIZDAILY.COM CHART 2.01: Market Highlight: Overview Of Adult-Use Cannabis Markets In Illinois & Michigan Michigan and Illinois became the first two states in the Midwest to legalize adult-use cannabis, and both are expected to be major markets in the coming years. The resident populations of Illinois and Michigan will be the second- and third-largest of any state with an adult-use cannabis market, respectively, and both will likely draw significant amounts of out-of-state customers as neither borders another state that has legalized recreational marijuana. There will likely be some challenges in the short term, however, as both states allow local towns and municipalities to ban marijuana businesses from operating within their jurisdictions. So far, nearly half of Michigan’s communities have enacted such a ban, while several major suburbs outside the Chicago area have done the same. While it’s likely that many of these local bans will be withdrawn over the coming years, it will intensify the initial competition for licenses in communities where adult-use cannabis businesses are allowed. But perhaps the biggest difference between the regulatory structures of Illinois and Michigan is the statewide caps on the number of licensed businesses allowed to operate in the state ― Illinois has a cap and Michigan does not. And the cap in Illinois is lower than any other state with an adult-use cannabis industry. At no point can the number of retail cannabis stores in Illinois exceed 500, meaning that on a per-capita basis there will be fewer rec stores in Illinois than in any other adult-use cannabis market in the country. Although both states will face some obstacles in the first couple of years of their adult-use markets, statewide license caps in Illinois mean it will take longer for the state’s rec market to mature.