Two Midwestern states are breaking into the recreational marijuana market, and dispensaries are expecting huge crowds.
Legal weed sales began Sunday in Michigan, where a handful of dispensaries in Ann Arbor planned to be open for business. The landmark moment in the state's cannabis industry comes amid a temporary ban on the sale of vaping devices in Michigan as health officials investigate the causes of vaping-related lung illnesses nationwide.
In Illinois, where officials are grappling with a lack of racial equity in the cannabis industry, sales are expected to begin New Year's Day.
The states are the 10th and 11th nationwide to allow recreational marijuana sales.
Thirty-three states allow the sale of marijuana for medical use, which Michigan legalized in 2008, followed by Illinois in 2013.
Here's what you need to know.
Who can legally buy weed in Michigan and Illinois?
Anyone over the age of 21 with a valid state ID or driver's license can purchase recreational marijuana from licensed retailers.
In Michigan, residents can legally possess up to 2.5 ounces on their person, or up to 10 ounces at home.
In Illinois, residents will be able to have up to 30 grams of cannabis flower, 5 grams of concentrate and 500 milligrams of THC in products such as edibles. Non-Illinois residents in the state may possess up to only half as much as residents.
However, some restrictions still apply. Landowners can ban cannabis use, and employers can prohibit employees from having THC in their systems.
It's illegal to drive while impaired and to possess marijuana on federal land and federally funded facilities, including some hospitals, public housing and more.
Michigan's medical marijuana industry serves nearly 300,000 people but could serve about 1.5 million people in the recreational market, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Illinois has a much smaller medical marijuana industry, serving about 91,000 people. The state's recreational marijuana industry could serve nearly 1 million consumers living in the state, compounded by millions of tourists annually, according to a report by cannabis consulting firm Freedman & Koski.
Marijuana legalization:Where the 2020 Democratic candidates for president stand
In Michigan, at least three shops are ready to go on day one, and they're all in Ann Arbor: Exclusive Brands, Arbor Wellness and Greenstone Provisions.
At 10 a.m., the retailers were expected to begin transferring up to 50% of their products from the medical side of the business to the new recreational market.
In Illinois, sales are scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. Jan. 1, 2020. The state has 55 existing medical dispensaries, but regulators have licensed 29 stores so far, according to the Chicago Tribune.
All the Credits & Source - Orignal Story- USA Today
Tags:
Legalization