With Legal Marijuana In 2020, Some Count Down To 'Hempy' New Year
CHICAGO (CBS) -- At midnight on Wednesday morning with the start of 2020, recreational marijuana is legal in Illinois.
CBS 2's Jermont Terry showed us Tuesday night how fans were ringing in the New Year with a cannabis countdown.
At some dispensaries, there were already people camping out ahead of time getting ready to buy marijuana legally for the first time. But others decided to smoke the marijuana they already had.
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At the Melloswing Barbershop, at 10234 S. Vincennes Ave. in East Beverly, the fellas gather every year for New Year's Eve.
"Leaving the blinds open with it's time to partake and enjoy ourselves," said barbershop owner Danny Joe Sorge.
But this year's party was stocked with something extra.
"Man, we're ready for a party," Sorge said. "We have a dab rig here for vaporizing concentrates. We've got natural hemp wraps."
With recreational marijuana becoming legal, Sorge decided to have a shop smokeout celebration.
"We're going to have a midnight New Year's roast," Sorge said.
And he fired up and rolled up - making enough to share with his guests, all while ringing in a New Year like no other.
Instead of screaming, "Happy New Year!" they are prepared to inhale and exhale, shouting, "Hempy New Year!"
Meanwhile, the barricades were out in Wrigleyville, where crowds were expected to come at 6 a.m. when dispensaries open.
"You know, it's crazy," said Jason Erkes of Sunnyside* Dispensary. "We don't know whether to expect hundreds or thousands, so we're prepared for whoever shows up."
At the Sunnyside* Dispensary, 3812 N. Clark St., staffers were putting the final touches on the store.
The owners wanted people to know the options are plenty, but you'll have to remember one important thing.
"We probably got a hundred phone calls in a period of about two hours, and people asking what time we open; whether we take cash or credit card," Erkes said. "We only take cash."
Cash only is the rule for all dispensaries.
