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BUSINESS Retail customers lined up at medical marijuana dispenaries in Ashland on Thursday Retail customers lined up at medical marijuana dispenaries on Thursday Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Oct 1, 2015 at 5:07 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Oct 1, 2015 at 5:07 PM » Social News It was an hour’s wait, but about 50 people were glad to stand in a long line outside Breeze Botanical in Ashland on Thursday morning to buy the first legal recreational marijuana ever available here for retail sale. “I’m excited because I don’t have to feel I’m doing something dirty. It’s great for my migraine,” said “Mary,” the first person in line a the medical marijuana dispensary on Siskiyou Boulevard, who declined to give her real name. “I couldn’t afford a medical marijuana card, so this will be very helpful. I’m here to get an education on what type works best. Tonight, I’m going to relax with it and then go to bed.” Ashland attorney Theodore Bastian, who has spent several decades fighting pot punishments in court, said, “This is a great day, a red-letter day. I’ve seen a lot of people absolutely ruined by felony convictions, unable to get jobs or get in the military." Bastian sought weed to help with sleeping and used a magnifying glass to look for the “glistening shine” of THC on the leaves. The clerk, Aaron Cruz Garcia, told him a particular brand of indica, grown in Shady Cove, will bring on “drowsiness and take you to slumberland.” Marijuana can be put in two classes, he explained — indica, which brings full-body relaxation, and sativa, which is more uplifting, creative and cerebral. A hybrid of the two is also available. “This has been a long time coming and should have happened a long time ago,” said Lori Harvey, who was looking for both sleep and enhanced creativity. Her partner, Ace Harvey, said, “I feel excited. It’s so overdue. The effects of marijuana illegality have been so much worse than alcohol prohibition. It’s sad it’s taken so long and that I’ve had to do this harmless activity for 21 years, while it was criminalized and could have been generating tax revenue.” He bought a variety that “helps me function during the day and then makes it easier to sleep and means drinking less beer.” College student Grant J, who declined to give his last name, said “It’s so exciting to be open for sale of recreational marijuana and have it generate money for the state. It’s been such a long time coming but it’s also such an interesting time to be alive with so many good changes happening.” He opted for sativa’s “energetic” effects which are nice for hiking — and the indica for its "calming and sleep-inducing effect.” The shop’s clerks greeted the scores of customers with wide smiles and handshakes, asked for photo ID and entered them in their computers, then proceeded to let them enter the locked back room, a couple at a time. They taught most of them about the qualities and potencies of their many varieties, often using humorous slang of the drug, such as “couch lock,” meaning extreme torpor. “Bud,” the stuff of recreational cannabis commerce, is organized on the shelves of Breeze Botanicals according to its medical properties: stress, muscular tension, nausea, sleep, pain relief and appetites stimulation, with clerks educating customers on its mood and psychoactive properties. “Geo,” a musician and photographer, said, “It’s an amazing, special day in Oregon. I came from another generation who had to do this in secret. A lot of good things are happening now, this, along with marriage equality.” He chose a brand called “Blue Dream” because “It’s a very functional-type buzz that allows me to be creative all day and enables me to think outside the box a little bit yet still be functional, not laying around. Sativa has that more cerebral effect instead of the heavy body high. When I want pain relief, it’s indica.” For “Janette,” she wanted to be able to “just walk in and buy pot without any problems, like it was carrots ... I want something happy and gentle to use as an occasional treat with friends, not something where I sit at the table hallucinating. I’m from the ’70s when pot was gentle. It’s not like that now.” An elderly “Lynn” said, “It’s a historic day and I’m thrilled now that it’s legal. I’ve been using it since the 80s for creativity and problem-solving of whatever’s on my mind. I just go out in the woods and it gets clear in my mind. I use a vaporizer. I’m absolutely thrilled, so happy.” Oregon was the first state to decriminalize possession of small amounts in 1973, and voters legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Recreational weed has been legal for adults 21 and over to possess and to use since July 1. Adults over 21 may now buy a quarter-ounce a day and possess up to four plants and unlimited amounts of seed. A tax of up to 20 percent on purchases won’t kick in until 2016. Smoking in public is still against the law, as is driving under the influence of any intoxicant, including marijuana. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Oct. 1, 2015 at 3:02 PM Updated Oct 1, 2015 at 5:07 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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