Legal marijuana sales in Illinois hit $5.42 million in first two days
More than 133,000 people were able to buy marijuana at Illinois stores during the first two days of business for recreational pot products, and statewide sales reached $5.42 million, the state said Friday.
Ascend Wellness Holdings, which owns a Collinsville store that is the only metro-east site for recreational cannabis sales, declined to release the amount of sales at its store, where long lines of customers formed Wednesday when it became legal to sell recreational marijuana.
State officials said stores reported $3.17 million in sales statewide on Wednesday and $2.25 million on Thursday for a two-day total of $5.42 million through 133,890 transactions.
A spokeswoman for Gov. J.B. Pritzker said she did not have sales figures for individual stores.
Collinsville city officials have said that the pot store could bring in between $1 million and $1.3 million a year in sales tax revenue to the city and that the store could have $20 million to $25 million in sales.
Ascend Wellness Holdings said it served 5,200 customers at its Collinsville and Springfield stores on Wednesday and Thursday. The Collinsville store at 1014 Eastport Plaza Drive had 1,982 customers on New Year’s Day.
To keep up with demand at the Collinsville dispensary, a company official said the store has added “more product from cultivators.”
“We are adding as we can to keep choices available,” Ascend Wellness Holdings regional director Kathleen Olivastro said in a statement.
The Collinsville store has been selling medical marijuana under the name of HCI Alternatives and will continue to use that brand name for medical marijuana sales, company spokesman Chris McCloud said in an email. However, from Jan. 27 forward, the recreational marijuana sales will officially be sold under the Illinois Supply and Provisions brand name, which the company is already using in its promotional information.
“We are overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and energy of our first day customers. Despite the long lines, which we expected, customers were about as respectful and happy as you could want and we share in that celebration with them,” Ascend Wellness Holdings founder Abner Kurtin said in a statement released Friday.
Ascend Wellness Holdings said it has marijuana retail and production facilities in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts and New Jersey and partnerships in Michigan.
The company on Friday repeated its intentions to open a new store in Fairview Heights this year.
McCloud declined to comment on a specific Fairview Heights address that had been listed on the company’s website last month.
The state will allow four metro-east store to sell recreational marijuana products but the Collinsville store is the only one approved so far.
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 2:38 PM.
