Illinois brings in $317 million in cannabis taxes

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WIFR) - What was once one of the most critical bills passed into law is now one of the biggest cash crops for the Land of Lincoln.

During the previous fiscal year, the state of Illinois finished with more than $317 million in cannabis taxes. for fiscal year 2021 that ended on June 30 That exceeded the $52.7 million Illinois collected for the previous year with just six months of cannabis sales.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation reports sales in May alone were more than $116 million, which is $1.5 million more than what was sold in April.

The state of Illinois finished the previous fiscal year with more than $317 million in cannabis taxes. That far eclipsed the $52.7 million the state collected for the previous year with just six months worth of sales.

Illinois legalized adult-use cannabis with the first legal sales beginning in January 2020. The state has reported continued growth in total sales month after month since then, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s orders closing most in-person business for more than two months in the spring of 2020.

Total reported sales since January 2020 are more than $1.17 billion.

Taxes on the sale can be more than 40 percent, depending on the potency of the drug.

State law splits that tax revenue in several ways. More than a third of the revenue goes to the state’s general revenue fund. Ten percent goes to the state’s backlog of unpaid bills. Eight percent goes to law enforcement and two percent goes to cannabis public safety campaigns. A quarter of every cannabis tax dollar collected goes to the R3 program by law.

Local governments can also tack on up to 3% additional sales tax.