California starts recreational pot sales, clients jam stores

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — From a pot shop in Santa Cruz that hung a banner proclaiming "Prohibition is Over!" to one in San Diego handing out T-shirts showing the first moon landing and declaring a "giant leap for mankind," the Golden State turned a shade greener with its first sales of recreational marijuana.

Ceremonial ribbon cuttings marked the occasion Monday as the nation's biggest producer of illicit marijuana moved from the shadows toward a regulated market. Freebies and food greeted those who waited in long lines to get their hands on weed with names like "Oh Geezus" and "Banana Breath."

"I'm scared, I'm excited, I'm relieved," exclaimed Kimberly Cargile, director of a Sacramento shop that has sold medical pot since 2009.