Recreational marijuana sales during the month of June were in excess of $158 million in Colorado, the highest amount to date.

The Denver Post reports that the previous record occurred in May, with nearly $149.2 million in sales. One year ago, June 2019 recreational sales amounted to $122.4 million.

Factoring in medical marijuana sales, the total for June neared $200 million. State revenues from sales have amounted to $203.3 million so far this year.

As of Aug. 3, there were 597 stores selling recreational products in the state, compared to 439 medical venues. Four of the medical establishments had delivery permits.

Increased cannabis sales during the pandemic are not unique to Colorado. CNN reported this week that Illinois, which legalized recreational marijuana on Jan. 1, experienced $60 million in sales in just July.

“You have more stores opened up providing greater access across the state,” said Jason Erkes of Cresco Labs, which has stores in Illinois and five other states. “You have more product coming to market, so when people are checking out, people can buy more, and you have the pandemic which just hit, causing a lot of symptoms of anxiety and depression and people are looking to cannabis as an alternative. So, it’s really been a perfect storm for the industry.”