High times for Illinois pot industry as annual recreational sales top $1.6 billion January 11, 2024 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Illinois pot shops sold more than $1.6 billion worth of recreational marijuana in 2023, the latest record year for the state’s budding industry. That’s a 5% increase from licensed adult-use cannabis sales in 2022, according to figures released Thursday by the Illinois… Read More→
After long delays, new cannabis businesses are opening in Illinois with a vow to help others along the way August 7, 2023 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Five years after starting the process, Dan Pettigrew finally has opened his first cannabis store in Illinois. Pettigrew is the co-founder of Viola CHI with former NBA star Al Harrington, following years of operation by Viola Brands in Colorado, Michigan… Read More→
Legal pot meant a second chance for thousands in Illinois — did the state keep its promise? June 7, 2023 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments The mood at the Sankofa Cultural Arts and Business Center on Chicago’s west side was celebratory on June 25, 2019, as hundreds gathered to watch Illinois make history. With the stroke of a pen, Gov. J.B. Pritzker made it legal… Read More→
New customer-friendly legal recreational cannabis in Missouri cuts into Illinois’ market March 20, 2023 AggregatedNews Illinois, Missouri 0 Comments Illinois had a three-year head start on legalizing recreational marijuana, but in many ways, Missouri has surpassed it after just one month. The two states came to legalization very differently, which makes the laws in each state very different —… Read More→
Wisconsin residents spent estimated millions of dollars buying weed in Illinois last year March 17, 2023 AggregatedNews Illinois, Wisconsin 0 Comments Wisconsin residents are choosing to spend their hard-earned cash in Illinois, specifically on weed. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation estimates the state made $36.1 million in tax revenue last year from Wisconsinites traveling across state lines to… Read More→
Illinois’ first social equity-licensed marijuana store to open next week in Chicago’s River North November 10, 2022 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments What state officials say would be the first social equity-licensed marijuana store in Illinois is scheduled to open next week in Chicago’s River North area. Green Rose Dispensary is soon to open on the site of the old Carson’s Ribs… Read More→
Federal bill to legalize marijuana would help, not hurt, the illicit market July 28, 2022 AggregatedNews Federal 0 Comments During the next year, California officials said last week, the state expects to seize “more than $1 billion worth of illegal cannabis products.” That announcement came a few weeks after the U.S. Justice Department bragged about guilty pleas by 11… Read More→
Illinois craft marijuana growers can get back to work after judge lifts order that put industry on hold June 16, 2022 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Craft cannabis growers in Illinois may resume preparing to open for business after a judge Wednesday ended his order that prevented the state from expediting new licenses. Winnebago County Circuit Judge Stephen Balogh ruled that jilted license applicants challenging the… Read More→
Chicago’s legal weed biz is creating a boon for private security firms June 8, 2022 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments A cash machine in the corner. An armed security guard near the door watching customers’ every move. As any legal weed buyer knows, these two features of marijuana dispensaries in Illinois set them apart from the typical retail experience. Legal… Read More→
New craft cannabis licenses issued amid ongoing turmoil in Illinois marijuana industry May 19, 2022 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Illinois has begun issuing new craft grow cannabis licenses, and a judge has authorized the state to hold a corrective lottery for dispensary applicants that filed lawsuits challenging the licensing process. Those two developments mark small but significant steps in… Read More→
Proposal to protect workers from getting fired for off-the-job marijuana use advances with Illinois lawmakers March 14, 2022 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments A proposal to prohibit firing workers for trace amounts of marijuana in their systems moved closer to passage when the Illinois House of Representatives approved the measure earlier this month — but employers remain very leery about it. The chief… Read More→
Indiana trails neighboring states in move to legalize marijuana December 21, 2021 AggregatedNews Indiana 0 Comments With Illinois and Michigan legalizing marijuana for recreational use in 2020, Ohio passing some medical marijuana measures, and Kentucky's governor saying he's open to medical marijuana legalization, Indiana may soon find itself alone if marijuana initiatives being pushed through the… Read More→
Only a few cannabis workers in Illinois are unionized 2 years after full legalization. Organizers say corporate owners have put up fierce resistance. December 2, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Cannabis workers pushing to unionize amid complaints of low wages and rough working conditions claim they’ve faced stiff resistance from the corporate pot firms that employ them. In January of 2020, with the blessing of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders,… Read More→
Illinois recreational pot sales top $1 billion, blowing past last year’s totals with two months left in 2021 November 3, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Recreational marijuana sales in Illinois surpassed $1 billion last month, blowing last year’s 12-month total sales of $669 million out of the water. October recorded over $123 million in sales of recreational pot. That pushes the year-to-date total for 2021… Read More→
Medical marijuana, more popular than ever, could still cost you your job in Illinois October 13, 2021 AggregatedNews Illinois 0 Comments Medical marijuana is more popular than ever in Illinois, despite the fact that recreational marijuana has been legal for more than a year. In fact, data indicates the spike in medical marijuana usage may be because of recreational marijuana, which… Read More→