On a Roll: Illinois MMJ Patients Spend Record $2.9M in July

Despite a slow start, Illinois’ medical cannabis industry is gathering momentum as evidenced by the steady growth in sales throughout this year.

In July, the state’s industry hit a new high, with $2.9 million in sales, according to the Chicago Tribune.

That’s up from $2.57 million in June, for a grand total of $16.3 million since the program launched in November. Sales have been growing steadily since the first dispensary opened.

The patient count has been growing steadily as well, which accounts for the parallel sales growth: The state now has nearly 9,000 patients, up from about 4,800 in February.

Gov. Bruce Rauner, despite his administration’s repeated reluctance to support medical cannabis in general, has also finally relented and agreed to expand both the length of the pilot program (it won’t sunset now until 2020) and its qualifying condition list (it now includes post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illnesses), giving the industry a much-needed boost.