(The Center Square) – Cannabis sales in Illinois are booming, but the taxes the state takes in won’t fix Illinois’ financial challenges, the latest figures show.
Depending on the potency of the product, it can have taxes of 40 percent or more. Since the adult-use program began in Illinois, dispensaries have sold more than $431 million worth of cannabis products. The state has taken in more than $106 million in revenue.
That may sound like a lot of revenue, but with a state budget of more than $40 billion, it’s a “drop in the bucket,” said Nick Niforatos, executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
“When you look at the legislation they passed last year to legalize marijuana recreationally the money does go kind of all over the place, and so you’re taking a very small number and really making it even smaller by putting into some of these programs,” Niforatos said.
Thirty-five percent of the…
