Statewide sales of legal marijuana totaled $19.7 million in the first 12 days, officials said.

There were 495,385 transactions from Jan. 1 to Sunday at marijuana shops across the state, including in Addison, North Aurora and Mundelein, for an average transaction of $40.

"Illinois had a far more successful launch of cannabis than many of the other states that have legalized, but this is about more than money, it's about starting a new industry in a way that includes communities left behind for far too long," Toi Hutchinson, senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker for cannabis control, said in a news release Monday.

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Elena Ferrarin ~ DailyHerald.com ~