SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois collected more than $10 million in taxes on recreational marijuana sales in the first month. That's way more than what was estimated to be collected.
The Illinois Department of Revenue reported recreational sales generated $7,332,058 in cannabis tax revenue during the month of January, with an additional $3,147,928 generated in retail sales tax revenue.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker's recently released budget conservatively estimated the state would collect only $28 million in cannabis tax revenue during the remainder of the fiscal year, ending June 30, 2020.
After administrative costs, 45% of the cannabis tax money will go to communities disproportionately hurt by drugs and used to fund substance abuse and mental health programs. The sales tax revenue will be divided between the state's general revenue fund and the local governments where purchases were made.
In addition, 35% of cannabis tax revenue will go toward the state’s general revenue fund, 10% will go toward paying off the state’s unpaid bills, 8% will go to local governments, and 2% will go to studying the public health impacts of legalizing recreational marijuana, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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