Recreational marijuana sales are now allowed in LA​, after shops get first licenses

Los Angeles marijuana stores on Friday evening got the OK to begin selling cannabis to anyone 21 and older with just an ID.
The first state license for a cannabis business in L.A. went to MedMen Beverly Hills for the Robertson Boulevard shop to sell both recreational and medical cannabis, according to Bureau of Cannabis Control records.
Recreational marijuana sales were allowed to begin in California on Jan. 1 per voter-approved Proposition 64.
Dozens of shops throughout the state ushered in the New Year with long lines of people waiting to buy the state’s first legal cannabis. But in order to get a state license, businesses had to first have a local permit. And Los Angeles didn’t start accepting applications for temporary marijuana permits until Jan. 3.
The city issued its first permits on Jan. 12. They’d handed out 55 permits as of Friday afternoon, according to a city database.
The early permits went to existing medical marijuana dispensaries that were given “limited immunity” to operate under the city’s former cannabis policy.
Many of these shops have been open for years, serving patients who have doctor’s recommendations for medical marijuana. But as soon as they receive a state license for recreational retail, they can begin operating much like liquor stores, selling products to anyone with an ID showing they’re at least 21.
Before the L.A. licenses started rolling in, the state had issued temporary licenses to 1,654 marijuana businesses.
The bureau had handed out 159 licenses for recreational cannabis shops, with the highest number in Sacramento and Santa Ana.
The agency had also licensed 209 medical marijuana shops and another 368 microbusinesses, distributors and lab testers.
The Department of Food and Agriculture had licensed 534 marijuana farmers, mostly in Northern California.
And the Department of Public Health had issued 384 manufacturing licenses to companies that make cannabis edibles and concentrates.
Those numbers are expected to rise sharply as the massive L.A. market comes into play.
Source: Oc Register