Eighty-two new cannabis stores opened in Illinois in the past fiscal year, marking "explosive growth" in sales outlets for an industry that surpassed $2 billion in sales, the state reported.
State regulators boasted in the 2024 annual report that "social equity" marijuana business owners, those who come from poor areas or who were most impacted by the war on drugs, now own nearly half of the 220 dispensaries statewide.
But social equity owners say they remain largely on the fringe of the industry because the state favors previously existing big businesses. A state disparity report showed social equity businesses collected only 12% of statewide revenues in the past year. "The structural imbalances have to be addressed," said Peter Contos, deputy director of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition.
While new social equity businesses typically own one or two stores, already-established multi-state operators own up to 10 each. Large companies are authorized by law to have up to 15 times more growing space than new craft growers.
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