Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed a cannabis legalization bill into law two years ago. The bill was then, and still is, lauded as the “most equity-centric” legalization effort in the nation.

"As the first state in the country to fully legalize adult-use cannabis through the legislative process, Illinois exemplifies the best of democracy: a bipartisan and deep commitment to better the lives of all of our people,” Gov. Pritzker said at the signing ceremony. “Legalizing adult-use cannabis brings an important and overdue change to our state, and it’s the right thing to do.”

And Those​​​ Jobs

Several months ago, Gov. Pritzker said the cannabis legalization law had resulted in the creation of more than 30,000 jobs since the market launched. He noted that “Illinois is home to the country’s most diverse cannabis industry and some of the largest companies,” which include Cresco Labs Inc CRLBF CL, Verano Holdings Corp. VRNO VRNOF, Green Thumb Industries GTBIF and privately held PharmaCann.

Job creation hasn't been the only benefit created by legalization in Illinois. The state’s economy has been positively impacted, as is normally the case. Illinois’s weed sales reached a cool $1.5 billion in 2022.  

So, we’re going to go out on a limb here and say Illinois is indeed a successful cannabis state, which is one of the reasons why we’re so happy to be holding our upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago this Sept 27-28. 

And we’re even happier to announce that Gov. Pritzker will be joining us as a keynote speaker.

Join us there and hear more about how Illinois' cannabis program is faring two years after it became the 11^th state in the nation to legalize adult-use marijuana. Surely the Governor will share an update on the state’s unique cannabis social equity program as well.

And he’ll likely tout the fact that Illinois has more than 100 cannabis shops, 22 of which are in Chicago and 53 in the surrounding suburbs. So while you're at the conference, we'll understand if you scoot out for a quick visit to a few of them when you’re there. In fact, stay tuned as we’ll soon be publishing a list of Chicago weed shops!

We’re all staying at the Marriott Magnificent Mile Downtown Hotel, so be sure to reserve a room and your tickets today before prices go up.

Photo: Benzinga edit with photo from SecretName101 on Wikipedia