Weeks after recreational marijuana sales became legal in California, select Los Angeles area dispensaries are only just beginning to receive their licenses.
In November of 2016, residents in California approved Prop. 64 and legalized the use of recreational marijuana for adults. While the policy officially became legal on January 1., few shops in the Los Angeles area have been received their official licenses. Slowly, that is finally starting to change.
Two of the first LA area dispensaries to receive their licenses are not actually part of the City of Los Angeles. mg was on hand to witness the first legal recreational sales in the LA area. MedMen was able to start adult-use sales on January 2 because the shop is located in West Hollywood, where that city was quicker to start issuing licenses. MedMen said they received about four times the business on the first day of recreational sales than they would on a typical day of medicinal sales.
Another LA area shop is celebrating their first day of recreational sales today. Cookies Los Angeles has received their license from the City of Maywood, a small city right off of the 710 Freeway. Today, Cookies Los Angeles has quite the celebration planned. Whiz Khalifa along with B-Real and Berner are expected to be at Cookies Los Angeles along with Mayor Ramon Medina filling out the motley ribbon cutting crew. A taco truck will also be serving customers throughout most of the day.
Cookies Los Angeles seems to have something going for it that could make some shops a bit envious. The City of Maywood granted them a microbusiness license. This allows Cookies to grow, manufacture, and distribute marijuana all on one site.
The City of Los Angeles has now finally joined the fray. WHTC, a Pre-ICO dispensary in Studio City has received the first recreational sales license from the city. WHTC has operated as a medical marijuana dispensary for years. Now the shop can apply for a state license.
“We are waiting state approval so we can be an adult-use, fully recreational store. As of right now, we are strictly medicinal, so just waiting on the state. We’ve already got the city’s approval,” said Allen of WHTC according to ABC 7 Los Angeles.
The second business to receive an official license from the City of Los Angeles is Nature’s Remedy in Woodland Hills. Operators at Nature’s Remedy have only applied for medical marijuana license and seem to be taking a wait and see approach before attempting to start recreational sales.
“We have filed only for medicinal. I’m going to wait and see how things play out in the city and then apply for recreational,” said David Slocum of Mother Nature’s Remedy.
Slocum would like to see Los Angeles, as well as other areas to expand testing and research for medical marijuana.
“These things are helping people all over the world not just here in America, so I think it’s time that we start allowing a lot more testing and we start really getting into the science of cannabis,” Slocum added.
