Amber Tezak of Joliet, however, said she believed there will be “less shame” to using marijuana.

“I like that it’s legal now – less of the criticism that comes with it,” Tezak said.

“It’s fantastic,” said Christian Rutledge of Plainfield. “I can look over to my brother and say, ‘Do you want to go to the dispensary and pick up?’ It’s no big deal.”

Inside the store, Joliet police Officer Jeremy Eaton, hired for security, welcomed customers and wished them a happy new year.

Eaton said he felt a kinship with law enforcement officers of another era nearly a century ago.

“It must have been like this for police in the 1930s with prohibition being lifted,” he said. “Technically, a prohibition has been lifted.”