January 1, 2018 marks the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales in California. America’s most populated state approved legal marijuana by a proposition to voters in the November, 2016 election.
Although legal recreational weed sales can begin statewide on January 1, only a small percentage of the state’s existing medical marijuana dispensaries will start selling today. That is because despite the statewide law, dispensaries must have local approval and a state license to begin recreational sales. Many communities have opted out of marijuana sales completely. Of the cities and towns that will allow recreational marijuana, many have not completed the creation of their local licensing, approval, and regulatory processes in time for sales to begin on the first day.
While San Diego, Oakland, and Sacramento have recreational pot shops open today, Los Angeles and San Francisco will not have recreational shops open until sometime over the next several weeks. Despite the slow roll out of adult-use dispensary licenses, California is destined to become the largest recreational marijuana market in the nation.
Be sure to check out our California Recreational Pot Shops Directory for an updated list of recreational dispensaries.
