Recreational Marijuana is Now Officially Legal in California

On January 1st, twenty years after its legalization of medical marijuana, the state of California officially legalized marijuana for recreational use for adults 21 and older. Individuals can now legally grow up to six plants and possess as much as one ounce of the drug.

The California Police Chiefs Association is expressing concerns about stoned drivers, the potential risk legalized pot poses to young people, and the cost of monitoring new regulations in addition to a preexisting black market. “There’s going to be a public-health cost and a public-safety cost enforcing these new laws and regulations,” said Johnathan Feldman, a legislative advocate for the Chiefs. “It remains to be seen if this can balance itself out.”

At first, marijuana shops will be able to sell marijuana harvested without full regulatory controls. But eventually, the state will require extensive testing for potency, pesticides, and other contaminants. A program to track all pot from seed to sale will be phased in, along with other protections such as childproof containers.

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