Illinois readies itself for the new year, when legalization of Recreational Marijuana will be upon us. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the bill legalizing recreational marijuana on June 25th of this year.

There is a simple yet preventable market issue looming, however. The result of which will cause serious problems for the marijuana industry in the state, recreational cannabis consumers, and clinicians who use weed for medical applications once the bill comes into effect on January 1st, 2020.

This market issue stems from the lack of potential for development in the system. At present, Illinois has a minor medicinal marijuana system with a total patient group of about 70 thousand relative to other areas in the country. The state has granted 19 growing licenses, operated by fifteen corporations to grow and manufacture marijuana for the state’s weed businesses. These companies will all be allowed to move their services into the adult wholesale market in time with the retail sales beginning Jan 1.

But make no mistake, it will be years until marijuana production in Illinois is near enough to satisfy market demand and produce cheaper prices. While the Illinois law-makers and governor certainly merit all the recognition they’ve gotten for their political courage (being the first to legalize recreational cannabis for Illinois), the fact remains that it’s going to be incredibly and exclusively profitable for this small list of corporate companies. Being one of the few with licensed dispensaries in Illinois will definitely have its perks.