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Sorrento Valley Medical Marijuana Business Granted California's First Temporary Recreational License

Customers buy products at a medical marijuana dispensary, April 20, 2016.
Associated Press
Customers buy products at a medical marijuana dispensary, April 20, 2016.

A Sorrento Valley medical marijuana business was granted California's first temporary recreational license and can begin selling recreational-use cannabis Jan. 1, officials said.

"The Prohibition is now over," Torrey Holistics said on its website Friday. "Celebrate the new normal."

The company was issued the first of four temporary licenses Thursday to begin retail sales of marijuana and cannabis products for "adult use," the state's designation for recreational marijuana. The other three adult-use licenses were issued to businesses in Santa Cruz and Shasta Lake, according to the state Bureau of Cannabis Control.

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California voters approved Proposition 64 last November to legalize the recreational use of cannabis products.

"Last week, we officially launched our online licensing system, and today we're pleased to issue the first group of temporary licenses to cannabis businesses that fall under the bureau's jurisdiction," said Lori Ajax, the bureau's control chief. "We plan to issue many more before January 1."

Torrey Holistics, at 10671 Roselle Street in the Golden Triangle, was also issued a temporary medical marijuana license Thursday. The recreational licenses are temporary and valid for 120 days, after which time the businesses will need to obtain a permanent license, none of which have been issued yet.

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Bureau of Cannabis Control officials said more than 1,900 businesses have registered on its new licensing site and more than 200 have submitted applications for various licenses. Eventually, the bureau will issue licenses to distributors, retailers, transporters and laboratories that test cannabis products. Officials did not give a reason for choosing Torrey Holistics and the three other businesses to receive the first four recreational licenses.

"It's just exciting," Tony Hall, a co-founder of Torrey Holistics, told the Los Angeles Times. "This is a once in a multi-generational event."