The new year brought many resolutions but for Illinois it brought legalized weed.

Marijuana has been legal for almost a month in Illinois and its effects aren’t exactly clear.

Legalization brought in $3.2 million in the first day of sales and in two days the sales totaled $5.2 million according to the Belleville News Democrat.

Obviously, marijuana is already bringing in a lot of money for the state, but what are the effects on residents?

So far, it’s been noticeable that legalization could potentially hurt people financially, due to the fact of the tax put on the sale of marijuana.

“Illinois slaps a 10 percent tax on products containing less than 35 percent THC (the psychoactive substance in cannabis),” according to Illinois Policy, “a 20 percent tax on cannabis-infused edible products and a 25 percent tax on products with more than 35 percent THC.”

Due to the fact that it hasn’t even been a complete month yet since legalization was put into place,it’s unclear what effects it will bring on Illinois residents themselves.

I think the results, though, will mostly be positive overall. There are many benefits economically that Illinois is already seeing from the legalization.

You could assume this new law will make people happy just considering the fact of how much was made in the first day of sales.

Over time, Illinois will probably influence bordering states, where marijuana is still illegal, to make the drug legal.

Once it’s seen how much Illinois makes in this first year of it being legal will likely determine if bordering states follow closely behind in the legalization.

It only makes sense for it to be legal when you think about the economic benefits and that according to Business Insider, “There have been zero documented deaths from marijuana use alone.”