Monday was the first day that marijuana could be bought and sold legally in California, and store owner Nicole Salisbury’s stocks of pot edibles are already running low.
The phone has been ringing nonstop for weeks with people from other states expressing an interest in sampling her wares.
“I’m so excited but I’m also a little bit nervous,” said Salisbury, who has been in the marijuana business for a decade and opened Green Pearl Organics as a medical dispensary two years ago.
“For the first time, I feel comfortable telling people that I own a marijuana shop.”
Eight states as well as the capital Washington have already legalised recreational use of the drug, though it remains outlawed at the federal level.
But California’s sheer size — its roughly 40-million people make it the US’s most populous state — as well as its booming economy mean it is expected to be the world’s largest market for the green flowering plant.
California became a pioneer when it legalised medicinal use of marijuana in 1996, and its decision to expand that to recreational use effective on Monday will be watched closely around the world by countries hoping to cash in on the so-called “green rush”.
Throughout the state on Monday, marijuana aficionados formed lines outside legal shops, no longer forced to conduct business with illicit dealers.
At Green Pearl Organics, Salisbury’s team had been working since 8am, helping customers with their various products — waxes, brownies, different forms of weed to soothe or to induce highs.
Some elderly customers — longtime buyers who have been coming to the store since it opened — are annoyed they now have to wait in long queues.
Some complain that only medical use should have remained legal, while others are unhappy at the heavy taxes applied to cannabis, which exceed 20% when state, sales and municipal taxes are added.
Buying involves showing a driver’s licence or other form of identification as proof you are 21 or above, and customers receive their goods in an opaque white bag.
Californians can get up to 28.5g of cannabis without a prescription and grow up to six plants per residence.
“It’s great to come get marijuana without actually having to see a doctor,” said Green Pearl Organics customer Andrew Jennings, who is originally from Texas.
“There’s no place in Texas where you can go — with a doctor’s recommendation or without.
“A lot of people think you just sit on your couch and watch TV, but depending on the strength, it can actually increase your focus,” he said.
“If you’re selling alcohol in this country, you should also sell weed — it brings taxes, we get great marijuana that’s being tested, so everybody’s winning.”
According to the new law, marijuana cannot be consumed in public places or while driving — nor can it be used within 300m of a school or other place for children.
Desert Hot Springs is hoping to carve out a niche as a destination for marijuana lovers — as well as the curious — from all over the country.
Many business owners are also investing in farms — Salisbury is planting her seedlings in a plot at the back of the shop while also working with a network of growers.
The city’s mayor and the police have backed the industry, which is projected to be worth $5.8bn in California by 2021, according to consultancy firm ArcView.
