In the first week of legalization, demand for marijuana explodes in Illinois

The search for recreational marijuana in the U.S. state of Illonois was so much that many vendors were left out of stock. Consumers have spent about $11 million on buying the substance since its sale was authorized by local court on January 1.

Total sales, released by Illnois employees, represents more than double the first week of sales in Colorado, the first U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana use in 2014. At the time, according to official data, the pioneering state raised $5 million.

Illinois is the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana use in the United States. In it, there are 37 licensed establishments marketing the substance, of which 10 are in the capital, Chicago.

On New Year's Day, most stores opened at 6 a.m. to welcome customers who had been in line for hours. Some of them had a waiting time of up to 12 hours.

According to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, on a reversal day more than $3.1 million in sales were recorded, and a total of 77,000 transactions were recorded.