Recreational pot hits Oregon stores Thursday

Starting Thursday, anyone in Oregon over the age of 21 with a valid ID can buy recreational marijuana legally. The Legislature decided to let medical marijuana dispensaries sell to recreational marijuana users, in addition to Oregon Medical Marijuana Patient cardholders.

“Huge day for us,” Sam Stapleton, the president and founder of Diamond Tree in Bend, said Monday. “It’s kind of a milestone for Oregon.”

Retail pot shops likely won’t open until October of 2016. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will begin accepting applications Jan. 4 for licenses.

Until then, purchasing from a medical marijuana dispensary is the only option for those who want to legally buy pot.

“You’ll come into one of the two stations,” Stapleton explained while walking NewsChannel 21 through his dispensary. “We’ll turn you over to a ‘budtender,’ and they’ll let you know what you can buy and how much.”

Customers over the age of 21 must first show their ID before they are allowed to view or purchase the marijuana. They can buy up to seven grams — or a quarter ounce — of pot, but cannot buy things such as edibles, hash oil or drinks.

The Oregon Health Authority says medical marijuana dispensaries were required to complete a form in order to sell to everyday pot users.

“Each retail customer has a valid government-issued ID and must be checked and sure that he or she is 21 or older,” OHA’s Jonathan Modie said Monday.

Modie says more than half of the dispensaries in Oregon have completed the paperwork to sell to recreational users.