Joliet will get its third cannabis dispensary.

The City Council on Tuesday voted 7-2 for a Veltiste Wellness dispensary, showing a marked change from past resistance to more cannabis shops.

“This is a legal and regulated industry, and we are open to that,” Councilman Cesar Guerrero said. “I think Joliet will benefit from this.”

The Veltiste Wellness dispensary will take over a closed NAPA Auto Parts store at 2121 W. Jefferson St.

It is a block away from another Jefferson Street location, where a dispensary tried to locate in 2022 and again in 2023. The council rejected that plan in part because of the location.

“What’s changed in the last year and a half to make it OK to put it there now?” asked resident Jack Hermanski, who opposed the Veltiste proposal.

The mayor has changed along with a few council members.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy, one of the yes votes, commented on people he knows who have experienced the medical benefits of cannabis, noting he heard from one woman who needs to travel out of town to get the product she needs for her medical condition.

“I know there are connotations with cannabis,” D’Arcy said. “I think in our world today there are good things that we will see.”

The only council member to object to the Jefferson Street location on Tuesday was Sherri Reardon, who joined Larry Hug in voting against the dispensary.

The council heard from several residents backing the Veltiste proposal. A few of them said they drive to New Lenox to buy cannabis rather than the two Rise dispensaries now in Joliet.

Veltiste Wellness CEO Dev Patel made a case that the Joliet market for cannabis was underserved with two dispensaries in town.

Patel told the council at its Monday workshop meeting that he expected the Jefferson Street dispensary to generate $1 million a month in net sales and $360,000 a year in tax revenue for the city.

Veltiste is likely to open on Jefferson Street location within six months, a partner in the business told The Herald-News after the vote.