EVANSVILLE – Kentuckians “will soon be able to get the help they need without living in fear of being charged with a misdemeanor.”
That was part of Gov. Andy Beshear’s announcement on Nov. 15 that he would sign an executive order to legalize medical marijuana in the commonwealth.
The move puts Kentucky alongside several Midwestern states that have legalized the drug in some form or another over the last few years. Both Michigan and Illinois sell medical and recreational marijuana, while Ohio offers only medical.
One state, though, lags behind: Indiana.
More:Marijuana: 5 things for Indiana residents to know about buying legal weed in Illinois
We’re one of only 12 states in the country that hasn’t legalized cannabis in some way. Both Gov. Eric Holcomb and our general assembly has steadfastly refused to budge, even though a wide majority of Americans believe it should be legal.
 And in doing so, they may be missing out on a mountain of cash.
Since legalizing recreational weed in 2019, Illinois has made millions upon millions of dollars – some of which they funnel to their public schools.
Every month, the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation keeps track of how much money the state takes in from marijuana sales. Here’s how much they made through the first 10 months of 2022 – including how much they’re selling to out-of-state residents.
Illinois marijuana sales to out-of-state residents
In October alone, Illinois made more than $40 million – $40,662,494 – off out-of-state sales to Hoosiers and other nearby residents.
And that wasn’t even their best month. The peak came in July, when Illinois sold more than $43.5 million in product to non-Illinois residents. The monthly average hovered just south of $39 million.
A spokesman with the state of Illinois didn’t provide numbers on how many of those sales came from Indiana.
The grand total
That’s nothing compared to total sales.
In their busiest month, Illinois sold more than $92 million worth of cannabis to in-state residents. Combined with out-of-state sales, the grand total comes to $135,658,291.
The monthly average for total sales is a little less than $128 million. In total, for the first 10 months of the year, in-state and out-of-state residents coming to Illinois dispensaries have spent more than $1.2 billion on marijuana.
And that’s all before tax.
Once that is included, the numbers grown exponentially. The excise tax rate for cannabis sales lingers somewhere between 10 and 25 percent depending on what kind of product a person buys, according to the state website.
More:Marijuana: Here’s a brief history of how Indiana made weed illegal
Indiana’s refusal to legalize marijuana
That kind of money isn’t coming Indiana’s way anytime soon.
Year after year, hopeful legislators file marijuana legalization or decriminalization bills in the general assembly. And year after year, they die – many without so much as a hearing.
Holcomb is just as rigid. Even though the governor has admitted to smoking weed in college, he has repeatedly said he wouldn’t support marijuana in Indiana until it’s legalized federally.
“If the law changed, we would look at all the positive or adverse impacts it would have,” he said in 2019. “I’m not convinced other states have made a wise decision.”
There are limits to that, too. In October, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of marijuana possession under federal law and urged governors to follow his lead for those jailed on state charges.
Holcomb refused.
“The president should work with Congress, not around them, to discuss changes to the law federally, especially if he is requesting governors to overturn the work local prosecutors have done by simply enforcing the law,” Holcomb said in a statement to Indy Star. “Until these federal law changes occur, I can’t in good conscience consider issuing blanket pardons for all such offenders.”
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