Recreational weed sales net $10M in tax revenue in 1st month

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The sale of recreational marijuana in Illinois generated $7.3 million in cannabis tax revenue last month, the Illinois Department of Revenue announced Monday.

The Revenue Department also reported that an additional $3.1 million was generated in retail sales tax revenue. Dispensaries across the state sold nearly $40 million in recreational pot last month.

Toi Hutchinson, an adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker on cannabis control, said the goal of Illinois' legal cannabis industry is to build a socially equitable program to help communities most harmed by the nation's war on drugs.

``Revenue raised in this first month will soon begin flowing back into those communities to begin repairing the damage done by the failed policies of the past and creating new opportunities for those who have been left behind for far too long,'Å¥ Hutchinson said.

In his proposed $42 billion fiscal year 2021 budget released last week, Pritzker projected marijuana sales would generate $28 million in cannabis tax revenue for the remainder of fiscal year 2020, which ends June 30. Illinois officials estimate that as the industry matures, marijuana sales will grow to $127 million in fiscal year 2021, of which $46 million will go to the state's general funds.

In January, Illinois was the second state in the Midwest to launch recreational pot sales. Michigan was the first.