New stores, stimulus checks, warming temperatures and tourists combined to help drive Illinois recreational cannabis sales to yet another monthly record with $109 million in purchases in March.
Illinois adult-use retail sales increased 24% over the previous monthly sales record of $88 million set in January, the Chicago Tribune reported, quoting figures from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Rec sales in March were also 35% higher than in February, when cold temperatures and the shorter month checked sales at $80 million.
About $33 million, or 31%, of Illinois’ adult-use sales in March came from tourists, according to The Pantagraph of Bloomington.
At the clip set during the first three months of 2021, recreational sales in Illinois this year will surpass $1 billion, according to the Sun-Times.
Last year, the first full year of recreational legalization, total recreational cannabis sales hit nearly $670 million, the newspaper reported.
