What a rush on legal weed!

Recreational pot sales crack $60M, obliterate previous monthly record by more than 25 percent

Sales of recreational cannabis in Illinois are only getting higher, with well over a million items moved last month. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

By Ted Cox

Illinois cannabis dispensaries enjoyed an extended rush in July, with sales of recreational marijuana smashing the previous record set only the month before and cracking the million mark in items moved for the first time.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation released new figures Monday showing that the state sold $61 million in adult-use cannabis in July, leaving the previous record of $47.6 million set in June totally obliterated. State dispensaries topped the million mark in items sold for recreational purposes for the first time, with 1.3 million packages of weed, edibles, pre-rolled joints, and other forms of cannabis going out the door.

The new $61 million monthly sales figure smashed the previous record by more than a quarter again, 28 percent, and of course produced records for both sales to state residents and to so-called cannabis tourists from out of state.

The $44.7 million sold to Illinoisans last month wiped out the record set in June of $35.3 million, while the $16.2 million sold to pot tourists easily topped the previous high of $12.4 million, also set in June.

In the first seven months of legalization, Illinois dispensaries sold more than $300 million in recreational cannabis. Tax revenue is typically reported a month after the sales figures, and the Illinois Department of Revenue reported last month that the state collected almost $53 million in taxes from adult-use cannabis in the first half year.