LOS ANGELES — Some Californians are raising blunts instead of glasses as they usher in the new year.
A law allowing the state’s first legal retail pot sales went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Johnny Hernandez, a tattoo artist from Modesto, was celebrating New Year’s Eve by smoking “Happy New Year blunts” with his cousins.
Hernandez, who is a medical marijuana user, says legalizing recreational pot is “something we’ve all been waiting for.”
The 29-year-old says he also hoped that the legalization of recreational, adult-use marijuana will help alleviate a stigma some believe still surrounds marijuana use.
About 90 businesses received state licenses to open on New Year’s Day. They are concentrated in San Diego, Santa Cruz, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Palm Springs area.
— AP
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