First licences for legal pot handed out in California

California has issued the first batch of business licenses to sell and transport recreationaluse marijuana, just 18 days before legal sales start on 1 January.

The 20 temporary licences – some of which were for the previously existing medical marijuana industry – represent a fraction of the thousands of licences expected to follow as the state embraces legal cannabis in 2018.

The release sparked jubilation.

The first distributor license for recreational marijuana was awarded to Pure CA, which does business as Moxie brand products, a company known for its cannabis extracts.

In general, California will treat cannabis like alcohol, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess up to an ounce and grow six marijuana plants at home.