5 Things to Know About Legal Weed in California

The green rush has begun in the golden state of California. Cannabis has been legal for recreational use for about a month now, and if you haven’t already flown your way to the west coast to get blown, or you’re a native who’s been living under a sober rock – we’re here to bring you 5 things to expect when you pop into your first legal pot shop!

1. Anyone over 21 can buy it

That’s right, you can finally fly over from your prohibitionist state and get a sample of the West Coast’s top shelf. You don’t need to see a doctor and complain about back pain anymore, you just show your ID and pay - just like cigarettes or liquor.

2. The Lines Are Longer

Now that any adult can just walk into a dispensary like a candy store, you’ll find that most recreational shops are plagued with long lines. Just like your favorite restaurant on a weekend, your local pot shop will get swamped reguarly now.

You’ll also have to wait behind medical patients who have priority over recreational consumers. It’s common to have someone walk in after you, show their medical card, and get in almost instantly while you’re stuck waiting another 10-20 mins. But since getting a medical card is as easy as paying $40 over an app, you’ve got no excuse if your anxiety is making life unbearable 😉

3. The Weed Is More Expensive (It Pays To Be Medical)

Recreational cannabis is taxed at an extra 30% rate. Medical marijuana patients don’t have to pay this extra tax. So an eighth that would cost you $35 as a medical patient might cost you $50 or more as recreational.

And most dispensaries haven’t updated their online or shop menus. They show medical prices (30% less - aka before rec prices), so you’ll have to do the mental math to ensure you don’t suffer sticker shock at the register.

4. There Are Shortages

Because of the boom of recent legalization, shops are swamped with newbies looking to stock up on the good green. I’ve been watching people come into dispensaries and buy $300-500 worth of products at one time, most of the time reaching the one ounce cap of legal purchasing power.

The weed isn’t sold out, but you’ll definitely have less of a selection than usual. It’s going to look like the grocery store during a natural disaster, with that leftover hash in a can that nobody wants to smoke. But stores are restocking constantly, so make sure to call ahead of time to ensure they’ve got the dank you need.

5. There’s No Place to Smoke it

You can buy weed legally from rec shops, but you still can’t legally smoke at the dispensary – or even in public. And most hotels are non-smoking, and definitely non-cannabis. So smoking legally becomes a challenge.

Luckily police are lenient, depending on the hood, so you can toke outside without too much worry. Just don’t smoke and drive, they’re strict on that.

There are also cannabis clubs you can get membership for like the Hitman Coffeeshop, and there’s cannabis events going on every other day here where you can spark up with friends.

Gotta love legal weed

It’s been awesome to watch every kind of person walk into dispensaries now. From moms and dads to grandpas to curious college kids, all kinds of people are coming out of the woodwork to see what this weed stuff is all about now that there’s no stigma. For the healthy individuals who didn’t want to do a song and dance to get a medical card, it’s a game changer.

Hope that helps!
Stay regular super stoners,
Oscar

Thousands Of Californians To Have Their Marijuana Convictions Dismissed

(NORML) San Francisco city officials announced plans yesterday to begin reviewing and automatically expunging thousands of past marijuana possession convictions.

The District Attorney’s office says that it will review, dismiss, and seal an estimated 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating back to 1975. The office also intends to review and resentence many past felony convictions.

Provisions in the state’s 2016 voter-approved marijuana law allow those with past marijuana convictions to petition the court for expungement. However, because this process that is often time consuming and can cost hundreds of dollars in legal fees, San Francisco’s D.A. George Gascón says that his office will instead “wipe out convictions en masse.”

Once weed-friendly California county bans marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO (Cannabist) — A previously pot friendly rural Northern California county has reversed course and banned commercial marijuana farms, paving the way for lawsuits from growers who previously received permits and paid taxes.

A newly constituted Calaveras County board of supervisors last week voted 3-2 to ban marijuana, giving some 200 farmers with permits about three months to wind down operations. The vote to ban occurred less than a month after California authorized retail sales of marijuana for recreational use in cities and counties that approve of pot operations within their borders.

Calaveras County growers with permits said Wednesday they are planning to sue. Each permit cost $5,000 and the county has collected more than $7 million in taxes from marijuana growers since 2016.

Man opens fire at West Hollywood hotel when staff tells him to lose his weed

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (Cannabist) — Authorities say a man fired a gun several times outside an upscale Los Angeles-area hotel in a fit of rage after staff told him to get rid of his marijuana.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Charles Duncan says the man in his 30s was asked to leave after a dispute over pot. Duncan says as the man was leaving he shot four or five rounds into the air. He then got into a silver hatchback, driven by a woman, and sped off.

San Francisco finalizes regs for recreational marijuana, but not in time for Jan. 1 sales debut

SAN FRANCISCO (Cannabist) — San Francisco is another step closer to allowing recreational marijuana sales to start in January after city leaders approved regulations in a mandatory second vote Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Mayor Ed Lee signed the rules that retailers and growers need to get state permits.

The regulations were surprisingly tough for San Francisco to settle on, so the city will not be ready for recreational cannabis sales on New Year’s Day when adults can legally use it throughout California.

San Francisco OKs rules for recreational pot shops, with tentative date for first sales

SAN FRANCISCO (Cannabist) — San Francisco leaders have overcome deep divisions about how to regulate legal recreational marijuana in the densely packed city, approving pot-friendly rules that could allow sales to start the first week of January.

San Francisco will not be ready for sales on New Year’s Day, but if Mayor Ed Lee approves the rules quickly, the city could be open for business at midnight Jan. 5, said John Cote, spokesman for the city attorney’s office. There are about 40 approved medical marijuana outlets that can start selling to adults that day.

The board approved a 600-foot (180-meter) buffer zone between pot shops and schools, rejecting attempts by Supervisor Katy Tang, who represents a heavily Asian district, for a 1,000-foot (305-meter) barrier. She also wanted the barrier to apply to child care centers.

LAPD captain probed for possible ties to marijuana warehouse

(LATimes) Los Angeles police captain is on paid leave as the department investigates whether he is involved with an alleged marijuana warehouse in Sun Valley.

The warehouse came to the Los Angeles Police Department’s attention on Oct. 31 after someone called to report a burglary there.

Phillip A. Smith, a captain in the Rampart Division, told The Times on Thursday that he was the caller.

The burglars entered the warehouse through a rear door about 4 a.m. They left with a safe, cigarettes, cigars and marijuana plants, according to an LAPD news release.

Investigators from the Gang and Narcotics Division began looking into the illegal marijuana business and discovered that an LAPD employee was “affiliated with the location,” according to the news release, which did not identify Smith by name.