( CNN ) Adam Markus has bet nearly everything he has on a pot shop . `` My checking account , as of this morning , is $ 25.97 . Somewhere deep inside me , I 'm still afraid I 've thrown all our money away , '' he said . `` I am sure I will feel that sense of relief when I see the first customer walk in the door . Once they are lined up out the door , I 'll be doing a dance on top of the glass counter . '' Markus , 53 , was a step closer to dancing Monday after officials in Washington issued him one of the state 's first 24 marijuana retailer licenses . He plans to open a store this week in Union Gap , Washington , one of two U.S. states that have legalized the sale of recreational marijuana . Sales started in Colorado in January . Markus got the idea after his sister died from an accidental drug overdose some four years ago . She suffered from chronic pain and took heavy medication . `` She passed away and in the process of talking to people about it , it came up that she would have benefited from using a cannabis product . It motivated me , '' Markus said . At that point , medical marijuana was legal in Washington , but recreational marijuana sales were not , so he decided risks were too great to open a store . That calculation changed when Washington changed its laws . `` I was making $ 25,000 a year , selling cars and supporting a family of four . This was until last month . I went through and pulled out all my funds in all my 401ks . And put into this -- with lots of help from friends , lots of donated labor . This is a true labor of love , '' said Markus , who does not smoke . `` I do n't want to give the impression this is a hippie thing . All my friends and family pulled together to build this thing . We have everything in place to be successful , '' he said . Maureen Cooke , 72 , is equally optimistic . She , too , received one of the state 's first marijuana retailer licenses . Cooke is set to open her store in Langley , Washington , where she expects rapid growth , `` maybe $ 5 million in sales '' the first month . `` If it 's anything like Colorado , goodness ! As long as we have product to sell , we are going to sell it . This is my retirement , '' she said . ' I like weed and I 'm a good person ' Public opinion has rapidly shifted toward softer policies on marijuana use . In January , a CNN/ORC International survey found that 55 % of respondents wanted to see marijuana made legal . That 's up from 16 % in 1987 , according to the CNN poll and numbers from the General Social Survey . New York legalizes medical marijuana . First medical marijuana dispensaries licensed in Massachusetts . Colorado issues first retail marijuana licenses .
`` I am sure I will feel that sense of relief when I see the first customer , '' says one owner . Marijuana state issues its first Washington retailer licenses . marijuana has been legalized there and in Washington .