First U.S. state to provide legal cover for recreational cannabis use

Brennan Linsley / AP Strains of marijuana are displayed for sale at The Clinic, a Denver-based dispensary.

More than a year after Colorado voters called on lawmakers to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division approved 348 licenses this week for companies to produce and sell the drug as of Jan. 1.

“It has taken an enormous team effort to be able to issue state licenses in the timelines identified in Amendment 64,” said Barbara Brohl, the head of Colorado’s Department of Revenue, according to the Denver Post.

As of the New Year, adults over the age of 21 will be able to purchase marijuana legally in the Centennial State. More than 130 shops, most of which are located in Denver, have received licenses from officials to begin selling cannabis.

[Denver Post]