Confusion prevails as California set to legalize recreational pot from January

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on October 31, 2017.

Ahead of January 1, when California is set to legalize recreational marijuana, the State seems unprepared for the move.

With the cities and municipalities yet to chalk out the actual details of recreational marijuana in their jurisdictions, there might be limited options for consumer on legal pot purchase.

“The bulk of folks probably are not going to be ready January 1,”said Cara Martinson of the California State Association of Counties.

The recreational sales of marijuana will merged with medical cannabis market, which will also have much stronger regulation from January. For now, marijuana in California will be treated like alcohol and will be accessible to people above 21 years who can possess up to an ounce of recreational pot and grow up to six marijuana plants at home.

While the State will start rolling out temporary licenses from January, it is yet to release the set of regulations on the plan govern the market, which is estimated to be $7 billion and USA’s largest legal cannabis economy.

However, the people in the pot industry seem to have found out potential conflicts or contradictory plans and raised concerns. 

The state expects licensed industries to work only with others that hold them, but it has raised concerns businesses who are wondering what happens if their supplier decides against joining the legal market.

Moreover, most of the banks have refused business with marijuana industries as cannabis is still considered illegal under Federal Law. This would lead to limited insurance options for the businesses. 

In a similar manner, many cities including Los Angeles and San Francisco are still struggling to release local rules for marijuana shops and growers.

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