Weed remains illegal in the neighboring state of Indiana, making this a potentially lucrative market for Illinois weed.
ByÂ
It is the downside of state by state legalization. Is legal Illinois weed fueling Indiana’s black market? In 2021, Illinois sold cannabis worth $1.3 billion to out-of-state customers, accounting for 32% of total weed sales. It is believed that the Hossiers contributed to a good proportion of these sales, even though the state of Indiana maintains very prohibitive cannabis rules.
From January to October 2022 out-of-state sales from Illinois have accounted for 31% of total sales, which is worth $1.28 billion. The figure is expected to exceed last year’s $1.3 billion by year end.
Illinois legalized recreational weed in January 2020 after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the cannabis bill into law. Unlike most legal states, Illinois allows out-of-state cannabis sales. In 2022, the state collected $435 million in marijuana tax revenues. Weed remains illegal in the neighboring state of Indiana, making this a potentially lucrative market for Illinois weed.
In October 2022, Illinois sold cannabis worth over $40 million to Hoosiers and residents of other nearby states. In July, out-of-state consumers took this even further by purchasing cannabis worth over $43.5 million from Illinois. On average, Illinois is selling about $39 million worth of cannabis to Indiana and other neighboring states. However, the exact sales to Indiana are unknown.
Will Indiana Legalize Marijuana?
Holcomb has stated on several occasions that he wouldn’t support marijuana legalization in Indiana unless things are changed at the federal level. Several cannabis bills have been introduced in the Indiana general assembly but none has ever made any waves. With Holcomb at the helm of things, it is highly unlikely that Indiana will legalize cannabis any time soon. Meanwhile, Illinois will continue to profit from out-of-state markets such as Indiana.
This article originally appeared on MyCannabis.com and has been reposted with permission.
