Illinois and Indiana residents line up outside Windy City Cannabis in Homewood on January 20, 2020. (Gary Middendorf / Post-Tribune)
The Northwest Indiana residents traveled less than 10 miles into Illinois to legally pick up some marijuana.
But the return trip becomes a little different when the new purchase becomes illegal after crossing the state line.
On Martin Luther King Day, none of the Hoosiers seemed concerned though, citing a variety of reasons from secure packaging to putting the product in the trunk of their cars.
“As long as it’s not open, it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Johnta, of Gary.
The people interviewed for the story did not want their last names used.
On Jan. 20, the parking lot outside the one-story business center was mostly full by 10 a.m., when Windy City Cannabis opened for business in Homewood, Illinois. Before it opened, there were at least eight vehicles with Indiana license plates parked outside.
Windy City Cannabis declined to comment, specifically to questions about how many Indiana residents have visited, but a worker at the dispensary stated that, based on the IDs he’s seen, it seems that more than half of the customers are from Indiana.
A few Indiana residents in line Jan. 20 said that when they visited the dispensary on Jan. 1, when recreational marijuana sales were officially legal in Illinois, it seemed like half of the crowd was from Indiana.
Jason was visiting the Homewood dispensary for the third time to purchase vape cartridges. On the first day, Jason said, it looked like “more than half" of the cars in the parking lot had Indiana plates.
Jason said those who have purchased from the Homewood dispensary shared his sentiment about their purchase becoming illegal once they cross back into Indiana.
“It hasn’t bothered me in the last 20 years, it won’t bother me now,” Jason said.
While Indiana residents seem to be taking advantage of Illinois legalizing recreational marijuana, they are only allowed to purchase half the amount of cannabis products that Illinois residents are allowed to buy.
Non-Illinois residents can purchase 15 grams, or half an ounce, of plant material, edibles with no more than 250mg of Tetrahydrocannabinol, and no more than 2.5 grams of concentrate product, like wax and vape, according to the Windy City Cannabis website.
Despite the purchasing rules, Indiana residents in line said they prefer going to the dispensary as opposed to purchasing marijuana illegally because there is a large variety and selection.
“You know exactly what you’re getting,” Jason said.
As people waited outside, it was easy to spot repeat customers. They were holding their driver’s licenses. Before entering the facility, everyone had to show a security guard their license.
When the dispensary opened, a security officer let the first five people inside. That’s the rule: only five people inside at a time. Soon after, the security guard handed the first person in line a piece of paper, an a la carte-style list of the products for sale.
The people waiting looked over the list, then passed it back quietly to the person behind them, like a note during class.
Johnta, who visited the Homewood dispensary for the first time, said he was there “to see what they have." He was specifically looking for Cereal Milk and Gary Payton, strains of marijuana. Johnta reviewed the list and decided to leave because the dispensary did not have the strains he wanted.
A few others stepped out of line, too, stating they will visit the other three Windy City Cannabis dispensaries to see if the products they want are available there.
Mike, of St. John, said he came to purchase edibles because marijuana has helped with knee pain following seven surgeries.
“With (marijuana) being legal and so close, you just have no choice,” Mike said.
Mike, who visited the dispensary for the first time, said he was only “kind of concerned" about driving back to Indiana, but he put the sealed product in his trunk before leaving.
Tony, of Dyer, said he visited the Homewood dispensary on the first day and about a week later. He recently addressed the Lake County Council to thank the council for considering an ordinance violation that would, with an officer’s discretion, make possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana a ticket-able offense.
The council is still reviewing the ordinance, though the proposed 30 grams would cover the 15 grams Indiana residents can legally buy in Illinois.
Tony said he uses cannabis products because he didn’t want to continue taking opioids following three spine surgeries. Plus, cannabis gives him “instant release” from pain, he said.
“If I can get away without taking pills, because I don’t like to, that’s good stuff,” Tony said.
Tony said he was not worried about driving back home with marijuana products because “it’s not the first time (he’s) had weed in (his) car.” Tony said he likes going to the dispensary because he knows what he’s getting and the edibles are already made.
Inside the dispensary, Tony said the workers took his ID, asked him what product he wanted, told him to sit in a waiting area, then took him into a back room for his product.
“We’ll take the next 5, please have your IDs out,” a security guard called out as more people could enter the dispensary. The wait averaged about 30 minutes, a fact that those in line frequently announced to people driving by asking, “how long have you been waiting?”
After about 1:30 p.m., a man got in line behind about 10 people and seemed frustrated that the wait was so long. A security guard asked the man if he had a medical marijuana card, and he stated he did. The security guard called him to the front of the line, checked his card, and let him into the dispensary.
“I don’t want to get beat up by stoners,” the man said jokingly as he entered. Medical marijuana card holders are allowed immediate access to the dispensary, and they are taxed 2.25% for their products, according to the Windy City Cannabis website.
Recreational users are taxed anywhere from 10% to 28.75% for their products, according to the website. All products have to be purchased with cash, it said.
Joshua, of Hammond, said he spent $200 for vape products, but he said he didn’t mind because Illinois legalizing marijuana seems to have “impacted street sales.”
“My weed guy, ever since (Illinois became) legal for recreation, his weed got terrible,” Joshua said.
As a dispensary that sells both medical and recreational marijuana, business will be “climbing” over the next few months, Windy City CEO Steve Weisman recently told the Chicago Tribune.
“There’s a lot of pent-up demand from people who have wanted to purchase cannabis but haven’t been able until now. So I see it continuing,” Weisman said. “I don’t think (it will) level off anytime soon.”
Chad, of St. John, a third-time visitor, said he waited in line seven hours on the first day recreational marijuana sales were legal, but that it wasn’t too bad because people were handing out hot dogs and coffee.
Chad said he came to buy cartridges for recreational use and cannabidiol-based products for his father to take for his arthritis.
When asked if he was worried about bringing the products back to Indiana, Chad responded quickly with “hell, no.”
“We don’t open it until we get home,” Chad said.
Even though spirits were high among those in line Jan. 20, the real concern seemed to be supply. By 10:30 a.m., or a half hour after opening, a security guard announced that only vape and wax products were available for recreational sale. By about 2:30 p.m., only nine vape pens were available for recreational sale.
The Indiana residents all agreed Indiana should legalize marijuana, although they know the Indiana legislature won’t do that. Until then, they seem to have a plan.
“Luckily, I live close enough to Illinois that I’ll just drive over the border. I don’t care,” Tony said.
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