LINE UP FOR IT — NOW LEGAL
‘Overdue’: Demonized weed has Bay Area customers line up overnight to buy it — California is 6th state to allow sales of recreational pot
More online: For more coverage of California’s legalization of recreational marijuana, visit WWW.THECANNIFORNIAN.COM
"It’s awesome. It’s been a long time coming. This is going to help a lot of people." — Miguel Vargas, of San Jose, who uses cannabis to ease knee and lower back pain
While most of the Bay Area was still sound asleep, thousands of polite, cheerful and suddenly lawabiding marijuana customers awoke before dawn on New Year’s Day to stand in line for the state’s firstever legal sales of a longdemonized plant.
The sky didn’t fall. Stoned zombies didn’t crash cars. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions didn’t jump out of the bushes with handcuffs.
“It feels great. It is long overdue,” said Craig Reinarman, a UC Santa Cruz sociology and legal studies professor emeritus who purchased the first weed at the KindPeoples dispensary in Santa Cruz to a round of applause.
Then he carefully wrapped up his new purchase — a eighth of a gram of indica flower called “Nine Pound Hammer” —
and went home to catch up on some work.
The cannabis would wait for later, he said. “It’ll make late night TV more fun,” the 69-year-old Reinarman quipped.
Defying federal law, Californians voted for cannabis legalization in November 2016 by passing Proposition 64 with 57 percent of the vote. While it’s been legal to use ever since, it’s been illegal to buy or sell until now.
California is now the sixth state in the nation to allow recreational cannabis sales, joining Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Nevada. The marijuana market — the largest cannabis one in the country — is expected to grow to $7 billion annually by 2020.
Cannabis was criminalized in California in the early 1900s under the Poison and Pharmacy Act, with simple possession punishable by up to six years in prison. But pot laws in California and most other states have gradually become less strict in recent decades.
In the greater Bay Area, nearly 50 retailers, distributors and testing labs are now open for business. In addition, the state has issued about 20 licenses for cannabis cultivation and 22 licenses for manufacturing, which involves extracting the plant’s chemicals.
Statewide, more than 400 cannabis businesses hold licenses, and an additional 1,800 applications have been filed and await processing. About 165 cultivation licenses have been issued, with more expected.
The cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles have not yet issued local licenses.
“This is an historic day for the state of California,” Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax, said in a prepared statement. “We are hopeful that we have put forth a model that other states will look to as an example when they head down the path to legalization.”
To prepare for Monday’s sales, the state has spent the past year creating complex rules and taxation for retailers, distributors, testing laboratories, event organizers and other cannabis-related businesses.
Many experts had expressed doubts that California
would hit the Monday deadline to get regulations and permits in place so that sales could start.
Regulators worked over the weekend to issue a flurry of last-minute licenses, while many businesses waited and are still worried about their fate in the new cannabis order.
In anticipation, some customers started arriving at stores on New Year’s Eve, wrapped in warm blankets and sleeping in lawn chairs, joined by friends, family and dogs.
Jeff Deakin, 66, arrived at the Oakland-based Harborside dispensary at about 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to be the first in a line of several hundred people of all ages and backgrounds.
“It just seems to help me get through the day,” the military vet said as he waited patiently with his wife, Mary, and dog, Rosie, for the dispensary doors to open at 6 a.m.
The first sale at San Jose’s Caliva dispensary was to Miguel Vargas of San Jose — who arrived at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and slept in his car.
Behind him in line were residents from as far away as San Francisco and Gilroy. As the sun rose, the crowd of 200 was welcomed by Caliva staff with disco music, free Krispy Kreme doughnuts and fresh coffee.
“It’s awesome. It’s been a long time coming,” said Vargas, who uses cannabis to ease lower back pain and aching knees. “This is going to help a lot of people.”
The first customers at the Berkeley Patients Group lined up around 4 a.m. Some customers wore cannabis necklaces and
sunglasses, green swag to celebrate the legal sale of recreational marijuana. Down the street, celebratory balloons whipped in the breeze, and a few cars honked in appreciation of legalization as they passed the dispensary.
“Smooth sailing so far,” said Sean Luse, the dispensary’s chief operating officer.
Not everyone who purchased marijuana on Monday planned on ever smoking or ingesting it.
In Southern California, Rome VanBergen traveled from Long Beach to Santa Ana to be one of the first people to buy cannabis when the dispensary 420 Central opened at 7 a.m. While she doesn’t use it, she’s been a longtime advocate for cannabis legalization, so she wanted to buy
taxed products and show support for legal shops in hopes that other cities and states will take note.
In Oakland, Harborside owner Steve DeAngelo — wearing his trademark gray braids and a navy blue fedora — addressed a cheering crowd before cutting a green ribbon with a giant pair of silver scissors to kick off legal sales.
“Many people never thought we would see this day,” he said. “I’m so happy.”
Carol Wyatt of West Oakland and Carlos Hooks of San Francisco came to Harborside about 7 a.m. in sparkly New Year’s hats from the night before. Both said the beginning of recreational cannabis sales was a great reason to celebrate. Wyatt, who says cannabis has helped her through menopause, said she came
“to be able to see and be part of history.”
Florida tourists Toby and Shara Edwards arrived at 5:30 a.m. to be the first in line at KindPeoples dispensary in Santa Cruz. Residents of Pensacola — “2,000 miles and 40 years away from California,” Toby Edwards joked — the couple bought $85 worth of cannabis-infused candies, topical lotions and pre-rolled cigarettes.
“It’s completely illegal (in Florida). The penalties are so severe you can lose your job. They can seize your property. It just isn’t worth it,” Edwards said. “This is so different.”
Behind them, wearing a plastic cannabis wreath, was Santa Cruz resident Tree Island, 69, who recalled buying cannabis in small matchboxes as a youth.
“The paranoia!” she said. “If there was a knock on the door, somebody would be standing over the toilet, ready to flush it. It was scary.”
Some elected officials joined in the celebration, including Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin, state Sen. Nancy Skinner, Oakland City Councilman Noel Gallo, Santa Cruz County Supervisor John Leopold and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley.
But many cities, especially in the Central Valley, remain opposed to cannabis businesses because of concerns about public health, more driving while stoned and making it easier for underage Californians to get marijuana. Most cities are either banning sales or taking a wait-and-see approach.
And even many cannabis advocates acknowledge there is still work to do. They’re frustrated by the high sales and excise taxes. They’re worried by the all-cash economy, putting businesses at risk of violent crime and limiting the ability of businesses to secure loads. They also seek “direct marketing,” now banned, to allow sales at farms, markets and events.
But most of the thousands of Californians who waited in line Monday morning said it was a day for celebrating, not griping.
“What a way to start the new year,” VanBergen said. “It should be legal nationally,” she said. “It’s a plant.”