Tyler Williams of Blanchester, Ohio selects marijuana strains to
purchase at the 3-D Denver Discrete Dispensary on January 1, 2014 in
Denver, Colorado. Legalization of recreational marijuana sales in the
state went into effect at 8am this morning. Photo/AFP
Marijuana users celebrated Wednesday as
Colorado became the first US state to allow retail cannabis sales,
putting it in the vanguard of efforts across the country to legalise the
drug.
The western state famous for its ski resorts and
breathtaking mountain vistas has issued 348 retail licenses --
including for small pot shops -- that can sell up to 28 grams of pot to
people aged 21 or older.
Washington state on the
Pacific Coast will follow Colorado several months from now, when it also
allows stores to begin selling cannabis.
Iraq war veteran Sean Azzariti was the first person to legally purchase cannabis for recreational use in the United States.
"It's
an absolute honor, I couldn't be happier. It's a huge stepping stone
for other states as well, so it's a huge honor, to say the least,"
Azzariti told reporters.
Azzariti, who has campaigned to legalise weed, said marijuana helps alleviate his post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms.
As
America's attitudes on marijuana use evolve, Colorado and Washington
legalized recreational consumption of the drug in November 2012
referendums, but the new rules coming into force allow cannabis shops.
"It
just makes it an item of commerce, like going into a liquor store," a
gray-haired Charles Pierce, 61, told AFP at the Denver Kush Club, where
pot fans lined up in the wind and sleet for the 8:00 am (1500 GMT)
opening.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said he was proud of the city.
"I
want to thank the businesses and consumers alike for acting responsibly
and with great accountability today," he said in a statement.
"Denver is a progressive city, a vibrant city, and it's incumbent on all of us to continue getting this right," Hancock added.
State officials here anticipate that marijuana sales will generate some $67 million in annual tax revenue.
'COULD LEAD TO HIGHER ADDICTION RATES'
Opponents
of legalised cannabis warn that it can lead to higher rates of
marijuana use and addiction, even among young people who technically are
not sanctioned to use the drug.
They also say that
marijuana users face a raft of health and psychiatric problems, noting
that pot is often a gateway drug that can lead to abuse of more serious
substances.
Supporters hailed its legalization -- and
legal sale -- in Colorado as historic, and a possible sign of things to
come elsewhere.
"The state is demonstrating to the rest
of the nation and the entire world that regulating marijuana works,"
said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project, one
of the leading backers of the ballot initiative to legalize marijuana.
"It's only a matter of time before lawmakers and voters in more states adopt similar laws regulating marijuana like alcohol."
Colorado's branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws told AFP that everyone will benefit.
"It
will mean jobs, tax revenue for the state and local jurisdictions,
increased tourism and a developing progressive new industry in
Colorado," NORML attorney Rachel Gillette said.
Michael
Elliott, head of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group, noted that
Colorado has licensed medical marijuana businesses since 2010, but said
the influx of tourists for recreational use of pot could lead to
shortages.
"It's tough to know whether supply will meet
demand, mainly because it's tough to know the impact of tourism on this
new market," he said.
Tax collectors are eyeing the
revenue the newly legalized trade will generate, while cannabis growers
and others are also rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Enterprising
companies are even offering marijuana tours to cash in on tourists
expected to be attracted to a Netherlands-style pot culture -- including
in Colorado's famous ski resorts.
"Just the novelty alone is bringing people from everywhere," said Adam Raleigh of cannabis supplier Telluride Bud Co.
Medical
marijuana is already legal and regulated in 19 US states, and has been
allowed in some cases for the past 20 years. And in most of them,
private consumption of cannabis is not classified as a crime.
Colorado
and Washington are creating a recreational market in which local
authorities will oversee growing, distribution and marketing -- all of
it legal -- for people to get high just for the fun of it.
The
market is huge: from $1.4 billion in medical marijuana in 2013, it will
grow by 64 percent to $2.34 billion in 2014 with recreational pot added
in Colorado and Washington, according to ArcView Market Research, which
tracks and publishes data on the cannabis industry.
Washington state is expected to open more than 300 pot shops in June.
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