PORTLAND, Ore. | Oregon is easing into an era of legal marijuana after an early-morning party on a bridge at the center of Portland.
A few thousand people jammed a sidewalk and bike path at midnight Tuesday to mark the legalization of recreational pot in the state at 12:01 a.m.
Many who gathered at the Burnside Bridge smoked openly, which remains illegal under the law voters approved last year. A few police cars cruised by without stopping.
Cedar Grey, president of the Oregon SunGrown Growers’ Guild, shows off a female flower on a medical marijuana plant in his garden in Williams, Ore., on June 25, 2015. A ballot measure making recreational marijuana legal in Oregon starts going into effect July 1, when people can grow and possess marijuana for their own use. Retail sales won’t start for months or more than a year, depending on the Legislature and regulators. Meanwhile, growers like Grey hope to make a living from cannabis in this new era of legal sales, but experts warn it will not be easy. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
FILE – In this Friday, June 26, 2015 file photo, Bear Westerlind, an employee at the medical marijuana dispensary Kaya Shack, displays different types of marijuana flowers sold at the shop in Portland, Ore. Pot growers in southern Oregon, known for producing dynamite weed, are gearing up for the states expansion from medical marijuana to legalized recreational pot. Possession of recreational pot becomes legal in Oregon on July 1. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, File)
FILE – In this Friday, June 26, 2015 file photo, employees at the medical marijuana dispensary Kaya Shack help a customer choose her products, in Portland, Ore. Pot growers in southern Oregon, known for producing dynamite weed, are gearing up for the states expansion from medical marijuana to legalized recreational pot. Possession of recreational pot becomes legal in Oregon on July 1. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka)
In this photo taken on June 25, 2015, Gina Erdmann, director of the Oregon SunGrown Growers’ Guild, sets up a sign-in table for the monthly meeting of marijuana growers in the old Williams Grange in Williams, Ore. Since Oregon voters enacted Measure 91 legalizing recreational marijuana, veteran growers and newbies have been gathering monthly for updates on the regulatory picture and to share tips on growing healthy happy cannabis plants. Though many are hoping a new era of legal cannabis will be an economic boom for Oregon, experts suggest for many it will be a bust. Measure 91 starts going into effect July 1, when people can possess and grow amounts for personal use. But retail sales are months or more than a year away. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)
In this Tuesday, June 30, 2015 photo, a person smokes at a celebration for the legalization of recreational marijuana on July 1 in Portland, Ore. The legalization of recreational marijuana on Wednesday makes the state the fourth to do so, following Colorado, Washington state and Alaska. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
In this Tuesday, June 30, 2015, photo, people gather at Burnside Bridge to celebrate the legalization of recreational marijuana on July 1 in Portland, Ore. The legalization of recreational marijuana on Wednesday makes the state the fourth to do so, following Colorado, Washington state and Alaska. (Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian via AP)
Last fall, voters OK’d the private use of small amounts of pot for adults.
But state officials are still working out the details of legalization. Retail sales aren’t expected until Oct. 1.
Oregon is the fourth state to green-light recreational marijuana.
Federal statistics show slightly more than 12 percent of Oregonians reporting recent marijuana use. That’s nearly 5 percentage points above the national rate.
