IL Monthly Puff: Vireo Buys Planet 13 / IL Sales Increase
Illinois cannabis in August has Vireo Growth’s acquisition of Planet 13 folding a Waukegan dispensary into a national footprint approaching 265 stores, while a Teamsters strike the union called a 30-day walkout at Ascend’s Barry cultivation facility ended with a ratified first contract. Unit sales are up 9.3% year-over-year through June, even as prices keep falling and federal pressure builds on rescheduling and 280E.
Top Headlines This Month
- Vireo to acquire Planet 13, adding Waukegan dispensary
- Teamsters ratify first contract at Ascend after strike union called 30 days
- Unit sales climb 9.3% to 27.6 million in H1
- DEA rescheduling hearing concludes as national tax revenue dips
Illinois: Vireo Growth to Acquire Planet 13, Adding Waukegan Dispensary
Vireo Growth Inc. and Planet 13 Holdings Inc. announced a definitive merger agreement under which Vireo will acquire all issued and outstanding equity interests of Planet 13. Each Planet 13 share converts to 0.015383618 of a Vireo subordinate voting share, representing a 16.6% premium over Planet 13’s 20-day volume-weighted average price as of July 24, 2026, and a 24% premium over Planet 13’s closing price on that date. The transaction adds 36 dispensaries: 33 in Florida, 2 in Nevada, and 1 in Illinois, specifically a location in Waukegan. It also adds Nevada retail dispensaries and production assets, two Florida cultivation and production facilities totaling more than 76,000 square feet, a distribution license, and a cannabis consumption lounge license. Both company boards unanimously approved the transaction. Closing conditions include Planet 13 stockholder approval, an SEC registration statement, Canadian Securities Exchange listing approval, and cannabis regulatory approvals. A termination fee of US$1.8 million is payable by Planet 13 to Vireo under certain circumstances. Following completion of all previously announced and pending acquisitions, Vireo expects to operate approximately 265 dispensaries across 15 states. For Illinois, the deal adds one location in Waukegan to Vireo’s existing in-state presence. At the national level, the transaction continues consolidation among larger multistate companies, with Vireo positioned to become the largest U.S. cannabis operator by dispensary count if all pending acquisitions close as expected.
Barry, Illinois: Teamsters Ratify First Contract at Ascend Wellness After Strike Union Called 30 Days
More than 300 members of Teamsters Local 916 ratified their first union contract on July 30, ending what the union described as a 30-day unfair labor practice strike at Ascend Wellness’s cannabis cultivation facility in Barry, Illinois. Workers walked off the job on June 25 after months of failed contract negotiations. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters described the strike as the largest in the history of the legal cannabis industry. The union accused Ascend of refusing to bargain in good faith and alleged the retaliatory firing of a bargaining committee member, which is an unfair labor practice under federal law. The Barry facility handles cultivation, processing, packaging, and distribution for dispensaries across Illinois. The ratified contract covers higher wages, reduced health care costs, stronger protections against unjust discipline, upgraded paid time off policies, and a formal dispute resolution process. Specific wage figures and contract duration were not disclosed. During the same period, 19 employees at an Ascend Cannabis store in Chicago Ridge voted to de-unionize, according to National Labor Relations Board records. The Barry facility sits at the center of Ascend’s Illinois supply chain, so a monthlong stoppage carried direct consequences for the state’s cannabis retail market. The settlement sets a reference point for labor negotiations across the cultivation and manufacturing side of the industry at a time when licensed companies are already under pressure from price compression and high tax burdens.
Source:
https://highlycapitalized.com/cannabis-workers-win-biggest-strike-in-u-s-history/
Illinois: Cannabis Unit Sales Rise 9.3% to 27.6 Million in H1 2026
Illinois cannabis retailers sold 27.6 million units in the first half of 2026, up 9.3% from the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Growth accelerated from 7.3% in H1 2025. The state now counts 288 dispensaries, up 10% year-over-year. Revenue comparisons are harder to read because Illinois switched software vendors for tracking sales last year and found that earlier data sometimes omitted product discounts, which had artificially inflated prior figures. Prices continue to fall industrywide due to oversupply. Bryan Zises, co-founder of Dispensary 33 and Spark’d Cannabis, said sales of the company’s SparkUp value line are up 15% year-over-year, outpacing other brands by nearly double. SB3222, signed June 12, brings intoxicating hemp products under state regulation and caps them at 0.4mg THC per container effective November 12, 2026, effectively ending unlicensed sales. Tim O’Hern, chief operating officer of Nature’s Grace and Wellness, estimates the intoxicating hemp market is about the same size as the state’s $1.5 billion adult-use market, with some of that demand expected to shift to regulated cannabis stores. Unit sales growth is accelerating even as store counts rise and prices fall, which points to volume carrying the Illinois market forward. The November hemp regulation adds another variable: if even part of that estimated market moves into licensed dispensaries, unit trends could strengthen heading into 2027.
Source:
https://mjbizdaily.com/news/significant-jump-in-unit-sales-at-illinois-cannabis-retailers/617042/
Federal: DEA Rescheduling Hearing Set to Conclude as National Cannabis Tax Revenue Dips
The DEA’s administrative hearing on rescheduling recreational cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III was scheduled to conclude on July 15, 2026. The agency selected only opponents of rescheduling as designated participants, drawing criticism from reform advocates. The DEA’s government witnesses testified that medical cannabis provides benefits and highlighted its relative safety compared to other controlled substances. On tax revenue, the U.S. Census Bureau published data showing states have generated nearly $15 billion in cannabis tax revenue since Q3 2021. States reported $825.1 million in cannabis tax revenue in Q1 2026, down from $878.1 million in Q4 2025. California led all states with $151.9 million in Q1 2026, followed by Washington, Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Colorado. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that the federal government cannot bar a cannabis user from owning a gun, with Justice Neil Gorsuch describing the decision as a narrow one. Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against multistate cannabis operator TerrAscend USA in New Jersey federal court, seeking to recover more than $8.3 million plus interest in what appears to be the first known government attempt to claw back a 280E-related tax refund from a cannabis company. The DEA hearing’s scheduled conclusion does not resolve the rescheduling outcome, and the agency’s decision to seat only rescheduling opponents means the process is likely to face continued legal challenge. The Q1 2026 tax revenue decline, the Supreme Court gun ruling, and the DOJ’s 280E action against TerrAscend each represent distinct federal pressure points that Illinois cannabis businesses are tracking this summer.
The Bottom Line
Illinois cannabis has a major MSO acquisition touching Waukegan, and the resolution of what the Teamsters described as the largest strike in legal cannabis history all landed inside a market where unit sales are still growing 9.3% year-over-year. Federal pressure on rescheduling, 280E, and quarterly tax revenue adds another set of variables Illinois retailers are tracking into the fall.
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