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% […]
82 cannabis stores opened in Illinois, but social equity owners remain on the margins
