Maywood celebrates opening of city's first recreational pot shop

MAYWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11/CNS) - With much fanfare and a mayoral ribbon-cutting, the city of Maywood on Tuesday celebrated the opening of its first marijuana dispensary licensed to sell cannabis for recreational use under a state law that took effect Jan. 1.

Hundreds of people stood in line Tuesday morning outside the newest location of Cookies Los Angeles, awaiting the mid-morning ceremony that opened the dispensary for business. The company also has locations in San Francisco and Santa Ana.

Maywood Mayor Ramon Medina was on hand to cut the ribbon outside the dispensary, which is billed as having the county's first microbusiness license, with every aspect of marijuana growth, processing, preparation and sale done on site. The dispensary sells both medical and recreational cannabis.

"A lot of people are going to be coming here from all over the place,'' customer Juan Alvarado told news outlets as he waited in line at the dispensary, 5815 Maywood Ave.

City officials are hoping the dispensary is a big money maker, thanks to a 6 percent local tax rate anticipated to raise at least $1 million annually.

Although recreational marijuana became legal at the beginning of the year, the permitting process has been slow to materialize in some cities, such as Los Angeles, meaning delays in the ability of dispensaries to sell cannabis for anything other than medical use.