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Lollapalooza, Chicago’s big music festival closed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, increased the record number of recreational marijuana sales in July, according to reports.
Chicago-area cannabis dispensaries during the four-day Lollapalooza Festival got some big business from attendees willing to let loose.
Local dispensaries contacted by FOX Business said traffic was booming during the festival.
“We saw thousands of festival goers over the weekend at our store in River North, making it our biggest weekend yet,” said Jason Erkes, spokesperson for Cresco Labs, based at Chicago, whose Sunnyside Dispensary in River North was closest to the festivities.
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“Summer tourism and Lollapalooza attendees were a big contributor to July’s out-of-state sales,” Erkes added.
In July, Illinois’ 110 dispensaries sold a record 2.8 million recreational weed products. Residents of the state spent about $ 85 million, while sales to out-of-state customers exceeded $ 42 million, up 16% from June, according to the state.
In this file photo from July 29, 2021, fans gather and cheer on the first day of the Lollapalooza Music Festival at Grant Park in Chicago. (AP Photo / Shafkat Anowar File / AP Newsroom)
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Illinois dispensaries sold a record $ 127.8 million this month; sales were 10% above the record $ 116.4 million in May, slightly above the $ 115.6 million in June, according to a monthly report from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Because recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois in January 2020, pot was legal in the state during Lollapalooza for the first time in the festival’s 30-year history. Although it is illegal to smoke or otherwise use the drug in public or around anyone under the age of 21, large crowds in Grant Park have increased sales by up to 50% at nearby River dispensaries. North and West Loop, operators told the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois is one of 18 states that have legalized recreational marijuana use, which is still illegal under federal law. As of July, the state generated $ 753 million in recreational cannabis sales, which is more than last year.
Total sales reached $ 1.03 billion last year, including $ 669 million in recreational cannabis and over $ 366 million in medical marijuana sales.
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Illinois has yet to release its medical marijuana sales figures for July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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