California returns marijuana ‘back to the people’

UNITED STATES: Will Senn has been waiting his whole life for this. Californians can now go to the store and buy marijuana, and his shop opened New Year’s Day.

Senn’s Urbn Leaf in San Diego was among the first to get a stateissued license to sell marijuana for medical and recreational uses. He hired 15 more workers to accommodate what he expects to be a crush of new customers to flood into his shop, which had previously specialised in cannabis for medicinal purposes.

‘‘This is what a lot of activists in the industry have been working for since the 1990s when Dennis Peron opened his first marijuana shop for Aids patients in San Francisco,’’ Senn said. ‘‘It’s a monumental moment and we are ecstatic to be a part of it.’’

Khalil Moutawakkil, chief executive of the KindPeoples Collective in Santa Cruz, said the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use was a major change that had been too long in coming.

‘‘This is essentially going to eliminate prohibition on the plant of the last 400 years and return the plant back to the people,’’ he said.

Still, Californians shouldn’t expect marijuana shops on every corner. In recent weeks, hundreds of businesses have applied for temporary licences to engage in the marijuana business, but industry officials expect a slow rollout as most cities in California have not yet given their approval, a prerequisite to getting a state licence. As of last Friday, 49 retail licenses had been issued by the state for businesses to sell recreational marijuana.

Sales for recreational use are allowed in cities including Los Angeles, West Hollywood, San Francisco, San Diego, Oakland, Santa Cruz and San Jose, but many proposed marijuana shops in those cities do not yet have state licences.

At least 300 other cities, including Riverside, Fresno, Bakersfield, Pasadena and Anaheim, don’t allow marijuana sales for nonmedical purposes, according to industry officials.

Voters paved the way in November 2016, with Proposition 64 winning 57 per cent approval. The ballot measure made California one of eight states to approve the sale of cannabis for recreational use. Those 21 and older can purchase and possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana for recreational use and to grow up to six plants in their homes.

State law prohibits smoking marijuana in many public places, and new laws prohibit smoking it while driving. –

PHOTO: AP Margot Simpson purchases marijuana at Harborside marijuana dispensary in Oakland, California. Starting on New Year’s Day, recreational marijuana can be sold legally in California.