Medical marijuana sales in Illinois topped more than $3.8 million in September, bringing the total of cannabis sales to $23.5 million since the program was launched in November last year, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Under the program, 11,100 patients are registered to buy medical cannabis in the state; 85 of which are teenagers and children. There are now 44 licensed dispensaries in the state.
As the program expands, other Illinois patients are seeking to gain access to medical cannabis in the state, and seven lawsuits have been filed to expand the list of qualifying conditions.
In June, lawmakers chose to extend the pilot program until 2020 and added post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the qualifying conditions list. The following month, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Rita Novak ordered the Department of Public Health to reconsider adding migraines to the list after Health Director Nirav Shah overturned a vote by the Cannabis Advisory Board to add the condition. Last month, Novak’s colleague, Judge Neil Cohen, ordered Shah to allow post-operative pain as a qualifying condition.
In July, Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis. According to the Chicago Tribune report, the law also expunges records for some marijuana-related offenses twice a year.