The state of Oregon yesterday legalised the sale of marijuana, after Governor Kate Brown signed off on a bill to decriminalise its sale.
While Oregon already allows for its residents to grow, possess, and smoke the drug privately, they were unable to purchase it. This new bill will allow existing medical marijuana dispensaries to sell the drug recreationally as of October 1st.
The drug, which has been legal since July 1st after being voted through in November of last year, will be illegal for those under 21 years of age, and can not be sold in quantities of over one-quarter ounce.
While it would seem that the medical marijuana shops will have a monopoly at first, the state will begin to issue licenses to prospective businesses in 2016 when it has worked out further regulations as to the sale of the drug.
Oregon joins Colorado, Washington, and Alaska as the states which has fully legalised the drug. Although 23 states currently allow marijuana to be sold in some form, the majority of them continue to class it as a band substance unless it's for medicinal purposes.