Legal weed sales resist COVID collapse

State approaches one-month high with $37.2M in buys for April, despite lower out-of-state sales

Illinois pot czarina Toi Hutchinson discusses recreational marijuana at a news conference with Gov. Pritzker late last year. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

By Ted Cox

The coronavirus pandemic has had little impact on sales of legal cannabis.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation reported $37.2 million in sales of legal weed for April, second only to the rollout of adult-use recreational pot in January when the state registered $39.2 million in sales.

Senior Adviser for Cannabis Control Too Hutchinson credited Gov. Pritzker for recognizing both medical marijuana and recreational pot as essential businesses in his initial stay-at-home order to combat the coronavirus pandemic. That enabled both dispensaries and cultivation sites to remain open, while also enabling curbside pickup orders for medical marijuana.

“Our top priority is to ensure consumers are safe when they go to a dispensary to purchase cannabis,” Hutchinson said. “The steps we’ve taken to increase social distancing at dispensaries are accomplishing that, while also enabling this new industry to continue to grow. As such, curbside pickup will remain an option for medical cannabis users to obtain the product they need through May 30.”

The state did register a lower amount of sales to out-of-state cannabis tourists in April, at $7.5 million, behind the $8.6 million in sales to visitors from other states in January and $9.2 million in February. But Illinoisans took up the slack with $29.7 million in pot purchases, right behind the $30 million they scored in January.

In the first four months of legalization, dispensaries have sold more than $147 million in recreational marijuana. The department emphasized those are base sales figures, not the tax revenue collected on top of that.

The department added: “Dispensaries are permitted to sell medical cannabis outside of their limited access area on their property or on a public walkway or curb adjacent to the dispensary. Medical cannabis patients will be able to continue to utilize their designated caregiver to purchase medicine for them. However, dispensaries may not deliver medical cannabis to a patient or caregiver’s home,” clarifying, “These rules do not apply to adult-use cannabis sales; those must still take place inside the limited access area.”