New Year's morning brings hundreds to Ottawa marijuana dispensary
By Brent BaderMany people were shaking from the cold and excitement on New Year’s Day while standing in line outside of Ottawa’s marijuana dispensary.
Nate and Sherry Hovious, of Princeton, were first in line and had been on site since 1 a.m.
“I get off work at 11 p.m. so I went home and showered and we came here,” Nate said.
“We were in the car for a while,” Sherry added.
That was until 5 a.m. when larger crowds began to appear including Drew Merriam who also arrived early and made fast friends with the Hovious couple.
They chatted with Ray Wegrzyn, of Princeton, who said the last time he smoked marijuana was with his friends who had returned from the Vietnam War.
“I’ve been waiting 53 years for this day,” Wegrzyn told those nearby.
Marijuana use by adults for recreational purposes, sales and possession became legal under state law Wednesday. It allows Illinois residents older than 21 to possess up to 30 grams, or roughly one ounce, of marijuana for personal use.
Temperatures were around 25 degrees at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, just 30 minutes prior to the start of business for Verilife, which previously only sold medical marijuana.
Verilife employees were handing out hand warmers to those waiting in the chilly temperatures and also passed out menus for customers to pre-select items, in an effort to speed up the process for the more than 200 customers waiting outside.
Police were also on-hand to ensure the marijuana sales went smoothly.
Dave and Bre McKenny, of Neponset, shivered near the front of the line after arriving at 7 a.m.
“We’re shaking from the cold and excitement,” Bre said.
“At first it was excitement, now it’s definitely the cold,” Dave added with a laugh.
Bre said there was no question of whether they’d wait in line but where. They lived within an hour’s drive of three locations where buying recreational marijuana was legal but chose Ottawa as they could pick up a family member on the way. Recreational marijuana is available in a few dozen locations across the state.
Dave said he wouldn’t miss the first day of sales.
“Absolutely. The prohibition has ended,” he said.
Bre said legalization has been a long-time coming for the state.
“Why not capitalize on the taxes? Illinois is so broke, they need everything they can get and this is one of the best ways to get it,” Bre said.
Dave added it’s good for local communities too.
“And then after we’re done here we might hit Long John Silver’s and we got to get gas before we go back home. So right there, it’s money we’re spending in Ottawa rather than back home,” he said.
Alec Birg, of Spring Valley, and Tim Bradish, of Cherry, arrived around the opening and wound up nearly 200 people deep in the line.
Bradish said his excitement had been slowly building as 2019 ticked on.
“But the last month or so has been pretty good. You know, getting a little more excited day-by-day. Now it’s finally here and it feels good,” Bradish said.
The two were a little divided over whether there would be enough supply for everyone in line and those who had yet to arrive.
Birg figured the supply wouldn’t run out.
“At least not in the first day,” Birg said.
“Oh dude, first couple of hours,” Bradish responded suggesting the dispensary could run out sooner than expected.
A Times reporter sparked a conversation to determine who traveled the furthest.
Of the group, Priscilla Johnson was technically from Nebraska but had only driven from Sandwich as she was in town visiting family.
She was bundled up in a very heavy blanket and said she'll be in Illinois until the end of the month, prior to her return to Nebraska where it remains illegal.
"It's wonderful. It's exciting. I'm part of history!" she said.
Merriam was the first to exit the business with recreational marijuana in hand and was greeted with cheers and applause as he exited the building.
While happy with his purchase, he felt their system of getting customers through could use some fine-tuning, especially with many others still waiting.
“(It was) a lot longer of a process then I would have thought. They’re saying it’ll go quick but not in my book,” he said.
Ten recreational customers were let in at a time while a few others who had noted what they would like to purchase waited right outside the doors, as hundreds of others waited in nearby parking lots.
Despite the crowds, a medical marijuana patient walked right up to the door and was able to enter without a wait after showing his card.
Additionally, Merriam said he paid about $30 in taxes, which left him disappointed.
His only advice for others?
“Be prepared for a long line, as it doesn’t look like that line is getting smaller,” he said.
Nate and Sherry Hovious exited shortly after and shook Merriam’s hand from his car window as he was pulling away, thanking each other for the company during the long wait.
Nate and Sherry said the experience was pleasant and they were assisted by a friendly staff. One snafu arose during purchasing but was quickly rectified and shouldn’t affect others.
They both said they were glad they spent the time out in the cold.
“It’s finally legal and I’m happy,” Nate said as he put his packages in the car.
“We were in the car for a while,” Sherry added.
That was until 5 a.m. when larger crowds began to appear including Drew Merriam who also arrived early and made fast friends with the Hovious couple.
They chatted with Ray Wegrzyn, of Princeton, who said the last time he smoked marijuana was with his friends who had returned from the Vietnam War.
“I’ve been waiting 53 years for this day,” Wegrzyn told those nearby.
Marijuana use by adults for recreational purposes, sales and possession became legal under state law Wednesday. It allows Illinois residents older than 21 to possess up to 30 grams, or roughly one ounce, of marijuana for personal use.
Temperatures were around 25 degrees at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, just 30 minutes prior to the start of business for Verilife, which previously only sold medical marijuana.
Verilife employees were handing out hand warmers to those waiting in the chilly temperatures and also passed out menus for customers to pre-select items, in an effort to speed up the process for the more than 200 customers waiting outside.
Police were also on-hand to ensure the marijuana sales went smoothly.
Dave and Bre McKenny, of Neponset, shivered near the front of the line after arriving at 7 a.m.
“We’re shaking from the cold and excitement,” Bre said.
“At first it was excitement, now it’s definitely the cold,” Dave added with a laugh.
Bre said there was no question of whether they’d wait in line but where. They lived within an hour’s drive of three locations where buying recreational marijuana was legal but chose Ottawa as they could pick up a family member on the way. Recreational marijuana is available in a few dozen locations across the state.
Dave said he wouldn’t miss the first day of sales.
“Absolutely. The prohibition has ended,” he said.
Bre said legalization has been a long-time coming for the state.
“Why not capitalize on the taxes? Illinois is so broke, they need everything they can get and this is one of the best ways to get it,” Bre said.
Dave added it’s good for local communities too.
“And then after we’re done here we might hit Long John Silver’s and we got to get gas before we go back home. So right there, it’s money we’re spending in Ottawa rather than back home,” he said.
Alec Birg, of Spring Valley, and Tim Bradish, of Cherry, arrived around the opening and wound up nearly 200 people deep in the line.
Bradish said his excitement had been slowly building as 2019 ticked on.
“But the last month or so has been pretty good. You know, getting a little more excited day-by-day. Now it’s finally here and it feels good,” Bradish said.
The two were a little divided over whether there would be enough supply for everyone in line and those who had yet to arrive.
Birg figured the supply wouldn’t run out.
“At least not in the first day,” Birg said.
“Oh dude, first couple of hours,” Bradish responded suggesting the dispensary could run out sooner than expected.
A Times reporter sparked a conversation to determine who traveled the furthest.
Of the group, Priscilla Johnson was technically from Nebraska but had only driven from Sandwich as she was in town visiting family.
She was bundled up in a very heavy blanket and said she'll be in Illinois until the end of the month, prior to her return to Nebraska where it remains illegal.
"It's wonderful. It's exciting. I'm part of history!" she said.
Merriam was the first to exit the business with recreational marijuana in hand and was greeted with cheers and applause as he exited the building.
While happy with his purchase, he felt their system of getting customers through could use some fine-tuning, especially with many others still waiting.
“(It was) a lot longer of a process then I would have thought. They’re saying it’ll go quick but not in my book,” he said.
Ten recreational customers were let in at a time while a few others who had noted what they would like to purchase waited right outside the doors, as hundreds of others waited in nearby parking lots.
Despite the crowds, a medical marijuana patient walked right up to the door and was able to enter without a wait after showing his card.
Additionally, Merriam said he paid about $30 in taxes, which left him disappointed.
His only advice for others?
“Be prepared for a long line, as it doesn’t look like that line is getting smaller,” he said.
Nate and Sherry Hovious exited shortly after and shook Merriam’s hand from his car window as he was pulling away, thanking each other for the company during the long wait.
Nate and Sherry said the experience was pleasant and they were assisted by a friendly staff. One snafu arose during purchasing but was quickly rectified and shouldn’t affect others.
They both said they were glad they spent the time out in the cold.
“It’s finally legal and I’m happy,” Nate said as he put his packages in the car.
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