It’s a new day, a new dawn for Californians as today marks the first day they can legally buy recreational marijuana, becoming the largest US state to do so.
As from 1 January, all adults aged over 21 can possess up to an ounce (28 grams) and even grow a maximum of six plants at home. Whilst entrepreneurs are looking at a billion dollar business to grow out of this legality in the next decade or so, many among them agree that the ‘first year will be a mess.’
This is a direct result of Californians voting in favour of proposition 64, which was held alongside the presidential election of 2016. So far, only a few shops have been able to open though, mostly due to the ‘governmental red tape’ still surrounding the sale of recreational marijuana, but business owners are very hopeful about the future.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here's a list of places where you can buy <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/marijuana?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#marijuana</a> in California on January 1. <a href="https://t.co/jOwqd9xVxO">https://t.co/jOwqd9xVxO</a> <a href="https://t.co/3dzVNR8Qlq">pic.twitter.com/3dzVNR8Qlq</a></p>— California NORML (@CaliforniaNORML) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaliforniaNORML/status/943941607686131712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Troy Dayton, the CEO of Arcview, a company that analyses the cannabis market, commented on the Californian news: "The first year, two years are going to be a mess, as cities agree their own regulations and supply and demand is established.”
As to price, Mr Dayton states that there for you will see a "crazy fluctuation in price over the first year or two.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Announcing 14 free public workshops—including a live-streamed option—on California’s new Cannabis Track-and-Trace System, 1/9-2/6. No registration required. This system will record the inventory and movement of cannabis—from cultivation to sale. Read more: <a href="https://t.co/ehxbLPSCUJ">https://t.co/ehxbLPSCUJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/E2m3Pn6zls">pic.twitter.com/E2m3Pn6zls</a></p>— CalCannabis (@cal_cannabis) <a href="https://twitter.com/cal_cannabis/status/947656010964930562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Furthermore, according to his company’s estimations, the illegal cannabis market is currently worth an annual $5.1bn and once it is legalised it could be worth $5.8bn by 2021.
One in five Americans can now legally get marijuana as six states have already passed legalisation: Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California and Nevada.
Source:
http://www.thecannifornian.com/cannabis-business/californias-cannabis-businesses-prepare-repeal-day/
