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Recreational Marijuana Sales Begin Thursday In Oregon

Gosia Wozniacka
/
AP
A medical marijuana dispensary displays a sign Monday, Sept. 28, 2015, in Portland, Ore.

Starting Thursday, adults 21 and over can buy marijuana for recreational use in Oregon. And they will have plenty of places to buy it from.

Recreational marijuana use became legal in Oregon starting in July. But adults had no place to legally buy it. The solution Oregon lawmakers settled on was to allow medical pot dispensaries to sell to the general public. More than 200 dispensaries signed up. That includes Cougar Cannabis in Roseburg. Owner Shellie Grammer says lots of people without medical marijuana cards have already been knocking on her door.

"We just let everybody know that Thursday, October first we'd be more than happy to help them out. But not until then,” said Grammer.

For now, recreational users will only be able to buy seeds, immature marijuana plants, and dried leaves and flowers. Edibles and other processed products won't come on line until next year. Also coming next year is a 25 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana. Temporarily, it is tax-free. Standalone recreational stores will be licensed starting next year.

Not every medical marijuana dispensary will be selling to recreational users. Some cities and counties have banned such sales.

Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.