Through November of last year, marijuana sales in Illinois topped $1.4 billion, generating a significant amount of tax revenue for the state. And in November, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker appointed a new Cannabis Regulation Oversight Officer.
Erin Johnson is taking over for Danielle Perry to coordinate between state cannabis agencies to ensure that the Illinois cannabis industry is headed in the right direction. Johnson said 2022 was a big year for weed.
"We're still calculating numbers for all of 2022, but what we do know is that it's going to be a record," she said. "2022 was a record breaking year — we matched our 2021 numbers in November. And so we're just tabulating sales from December, and we'll be able to release those numbers soon. But it definitely was a huge year for us."
One of Johnson's responsibilities also has to do with equity in the cannabis industry. Illinois, she said, is the first state to put a focus on combating the effects of the war on drugs with the legalization of weed.
"Our system really wants to bring more folks into the industry rather than sort of exclude, which has been done in the past," she said. "And so everything we do is driven towards making sure all regions of the state, and all folks who've been harmed in some way by the war on drugs are able to participate and feel like they have a chance to build this industry in our state."
Hear more from Erin Johnson on her new position:
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