New year sees cannabis made legal in California

THE arrival of the new year in California has brought with it broad legalisation of marijuana, a muchanticipated change that comes two decades after the state was the first to allow cannabis for medical use.

The US’ most populous state joins a growing list of other states, and the nation’s capital, where so-called recreational marijuana is permitted, even though the federal government still classifies pot as a controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.

Pot is now legal in California for adults aged 21 and older, and individuals can grow up to six plants and possess as much as an ounce of the drug.

But finding a retail outlet to buy non-medical pot in California will not be easy, at least initially, as only about 90 businesses received state licences to open on New Year’s Day. They are concentrated in San Diego, Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Palm Springs area.

Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the many cities where recreational pot will not be available straight away because local regulations were not approved in time to start issuing city licences needed to get state permits. Fresno, Bakersfield and Riverside are among the communities that have adopted laws forbidding recreational marijuana sales.

In 2016, the state produced an estimated 13.5 million pounds of pot and 80% was illegally shipped out of state, according to a report by ERA Economics, an environmental and agricultural consulting firm. Of the remaining 20%, only a quarter was sold legally for medicinal purposes.

That robust black market is expected to continue to thrive, particularly as taxes and fees raise the cost of retail pot by as much as 70%.