File Photo: A woman smokes marijuana during a demonstration in front of the National Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, on Nov. 4, 2015. (Xinhua/Alejandro Ayala)
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- California began its first historic legal sales of recreational marijuana in Oakland, a major port city on the U.S. west coast, on the first day of the year 2018.
Harborside, the largest nonprofit collective dispensary in Oakland, opened her doors at 6 a.m. (1400 GMT) on Monday to sell the first grams of pot to its customers.
As the most populous state in the United States, California joined a growing number of other states in the country to have legalized the sale of non-medical marijuana, which marked the the launch of a new industry in California, one that is heavily regulated and taxed, with revenues expected to reach several billion U.S. dollars each year.
The legalization of marijuana ends 100 years of "propaganda and prohibition," Steve DeAngelo, founder of Harborside, who is also a marijuana advocate, told local media.
California passed Proposition 64 in 2016 to legalize the recreational use of weed in California, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
However, only shops with both local permits and state licenses to sell recreational cannabis will be able to serve customers who don't have doctor's recommendations for medical marijuana.
Moreover, pot can be sold only to adults 21 years and older, and will be taxed at 15 percent.
At present, a total of 29 U.S. states have adopted medical marijuana laws and seven states have adopted the most expansive laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
