Illinois Has Most Expensive Legal Marijuana, 89% Higher Than Rest Of In U.S., Report Finds

CHICAGO — Illinois has some of the most expensive legal cannabis in the United States, according to an industry report.

An analysis of the state's marijuana market by the cannabis data found that the price of the average item sold in an Illinois dispensary is 89 percent higher than the rest of the country — the most expensive of any of the 11 states studied.

Illinois's cannabis market is also among the most consolidated, with the 10 largest brands conducting more than two thirds of all sales, according to the report from Seattle-based cannabis data firm Headset.

"Illinois’ average item price is 46% higher at $33.82 than the second highest Massachusetts and has a 36% higher price per gram ahead of Nevada," the Headset report found. "The high vertical integration coupled with the small brand selection likely contributes to a situation where prices are allowed to stay relatively high."

The report found that Illinois has the third-largest retail cannabis market in the country, trailing just California and Michigan, which is on track to sell nearly $1 billion more weed than Illinois despite having about 2.5 million fewer residents.

After rapid growth in sales for the first couple years of legalization in Illinois, the market now appears to have flattened, growing at just over 2 percent compared to nearly 13 percent last year and more than 100 percent in 2021.

"Sales in Illinois will also likely be negatively influenced by the recent legalization in Missouri, a border state," according to the report.

But Illinois is dead last when it comes to the number of cannabis brands available.

There are just 118 brands in the Illinois market, compared to nearly 1,400 in California, more than 1,000 in Washington and Oregon and 800 in Michigan.

The state with the second-fewest brands was Arizona, which still had more than 50 percent more brands available than Illinois, according to the report.

Last month, state regulators awarded 55 additional licenses for new retail marijuana locations following a lottery.

For the first years of the program, litigation and delays by state regulators left the original dispensaries — those who had invested in a medical marijuana license prior to legalization — with a monopoly on the market.

Although the legislation that legalized the retail sale of cannabis in Illinois called for the state to issue licenses to "social equity applicants," none were issued until nearly two years after the first legal marijuana was sold in January 2020. As of June, only about two dozen had opened.

Part of the problem lies in the state's regulatory framework, according to advocates for diversifying the industry. Seventeen different agencies are involved in cannabis regulation in Illinois.

Chicago Ald. Ameya Pawar, who is part of an ownership group awaiting state permission to open in Evanston, told Illinois Answers that the state's delay in issuing licenses has left new entrants to the cannabis market facing much higher interest rates than they would have when legalization took effect more than three and a half years ago.

“I would bet you’d have dozens and dozens more stores open today," he said, "[if they could open] when capital was cheaper."

Earlier: Cannabis License Lottery To Pick 55 Of 2,693 Social Equity Applicants