Illinois Repeats $165 Million Cannabis Sales Month for September

Illinois remains a national leader with the third biggest cannabis retail market in the U.S., bested only by California and Michigan.

The state’s licensed dispensaries recorded $165.5 million in sales ($139.5 million for adult use and $26 million for medical) for September, nearly mirroring the $165.7 million from the previous month, according to data from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR).

Currently, Illinois is on pace to surpass $1.93 billion in sales for the year, which would represent a 1.4% increase from 2022. Launching adult-use sales in January 2020, this is the fourth full year of the state’s expanded retail program.

This comes at a time when Illinois is averaging $5.9 million less in monthly sales to out-of-state residents in 2023 when compared to 2022. Through the first nine months of the year, this means a difference of roughly $53 million and is largely attributed to neighboring Missouri’s February 2023 launch of adult-use retail. Specifically, Illinois’ out-of-state sales represent 25% of the adult-use market so far in 2023 after representing 31% of the market in 2022.

Nonetheless, demand for adult-use products was at an all-time high last month in Illinois. Licensed dispensaries sold nearly 3.7 million adult-use items for the 30-day period, representing the fourth consecutive record month in this category, according to IDFPR.

And although the average retail price for adult-use flower has slowly declined to $277 per ounce in September 2023, compared to $348 per ounce in September 2022, this average price remains fairly steep compared to Illinois’ legalization peers. In Michigan, for example, the average adult-use flower price is roughly $90 per ounce in 2023, according to the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

Flower sales in Illinois made up 49% of the overall retail market in September, while extracts (32.5%) and infused edibles (13%) were the other leading product categories, according to the state’s Cannabis Regulation Oversight Office.

Since the beginning of 2020, Illinoisians have purchased more than $6.16 billion in cannabis and cannabis products from state-licensed retailers.