Cheers in Bend, across Oregon as legal marijuana sales begin

Crowds gathered and cheers arose at midnight Thursday at stores in Bend and around Oregon celebrated the first sales of legal recreational marijuana in the state

Diamond Tree dispensary was one of those spots, where customers lined up hours before midnight and packed the store, which previously served only as a medical marijuana dispensary.

“We’re all super-stoked to be here, It’s the dawn of a new era, so here’s to Oregon!” Diamond Tree owner Sam Stapleton said to loud cheers and applause, taking a swig from the bottle of champagne in hand.

“Everyone’s in a great mood. There’s a lot of happy people,” he said.

“Most of the public now I think is embracing it, so yeah, it’s awesome,” Stapleton said, expecting legal marijuana to become more “a part of everyday life.”

Stapleton hopes the new law will change the stigma associated with smoking pot.

“I think there’s a lot of people who just don’t know a lot about cannabis and all the cool things that it does,” he said. “it’s just great that it’s going mainstream and it’s getting more generally accepted in society. So it’s really great.”