Happy New Year! Legal Adult Marijuana Sales Start in California
The worlds largest legal marijuana economy gets underway on January 1, as Californias voter-approved law legalizing recreational marijuana commerce goes into effect. Its been legal to possess and grow small amounts of weed since shortly after votes passed Prop 64 in November 2016, but as of New Years Day, we see the unleashing of what is expected to bea $7 billion a year state cannabis industry.
But in a state of 39 million, only a few dozen shops are expected to be open for business on day one, and major cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco wont be among them. Thats because sellers have to have both a local permit and a state license, and few localities have completed their permitting procedures. San Francisco is among those but its still not quite going to be ready on day one. Expect recreational marijuana sales to begin there within a matter of days, though.
It is going to take a while to get these businesses up and running, said Lori Ajax, who runs the California Bureau of Cannabis Control. Were asking people to be patient.
Among the major cities that will have recreational pot shops open on day one are Berkeley, Oakland, San Diego, and San Jose.This interactive map charts all of the approximately 40 shops that will be open on January 1.
According to the Bureau of Cannabis Control, San Diego and San Jose will have the most stores open, with seven each, while two will be open in Berkeley and one in Oakland. Other pot shops open on January 1 are scattered across the state, from Mt. Shasta, Shasta Lake, Eureka, and Ukiah in the north, down to Santa Cruz on the coast, Palm Springs in the Southern California interior, and Woodlake, the only shop open in the entire Central Valley.
Medical marijuana dispensaries that have not applied for and received licenses for recreational marijuana sales will remain limited to serving customers with patient IDs.
While January 1 marks the beginning of the era of recreational marijuana sales, that doesnt mean California is turning into the Wild West of weed. The state has a reputation for being highly regulated, and thats no different when it comes to marijuana. Here are some of the things you cant do with legal marijuana in the Golden State:
People purchasing legal recreational marijuana will be contributing mightily to the states coffers. In addition to the state sales tax of 8% and any local sales taxes some localities plan sales taxes of up to 10% a 15% excise tax on wholesale purchases by retailers will be passed on to consumers ...
