California cannabis users show up for the state’s first day of social cannabis legalization

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While cannabis for medical use has been legal in California for two decades, residents in San Diego, Oakland and Sacramento lined up at the dispensary on Monday to celebrate the state’s social legalization milestone.

The state’s cannabis industry is estimated to reach $3.7 billion this year and more than $5.1 billion in 2019, research firm BDS Analytics reports. It is estimated California, the seven other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized cannabis will boost the nationwide industry to $50 billion by 2026, according to a prediction by Cowen & Co.

Social cannabis sales are expected to start in San Fransisco on Friday and in Los Angeles in the coming weeks.

Upwards of 400 businesses had received licenses from the state to legally operate under the new California regulations, according to a statement from the Bureau of Cannabis Control. About 100 of those are retail dispensary locations.