Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker’s bill-signing pen got a workout these past couple of weeks. He signed 45 House and Senate bills into law, from creating all-gender restrooms (with stall dividers and proper signage of course) to a bill intended to help individuals who have been affected by the War on Drugs. The former is optional; the latter goes into effect in Jan. 2024.

“Illinois has reduced our prison population by more than 26 percent in the last four years. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to lift up communities most harmed by the failed war on drugs,” Pritzker said, noting that he has expunged more than 800,000 low-level cannabis arrest records and pardoned 26,000 people who committed nonviolent offenses.

After Pritzker signed cannabis legalization into law two years ago making it the first in the nation to fully legalize through the legislative process, the market took off. Pritzker has often said that the industry created 30,000 jobs, noting the participation of such companies as Cresco Labs Inc (OTCQX: CRLBF) (CSE:CL), Verano Holdings Corp. (CSE:VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF), Green Thumb Industries (OTC: GTBIF) and privately held PharmaCann.

These and other Illinois weed retailers sold $140 million in cannabis products this July alone, breaking a record for 2023 and marking the second-highest monthly total since legal sales launched in 2020. For all of 2022, Illinois’ weed sales reached $1.5 billion.