73 pharmacies can now sell recreational marijuana. There they are.

Legal weed is here.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has authorized 73 dispensaries to begin selling recreational marijuana products to adults 21 and older.

See the bottom of this post for the full list of pharmacies, with names and contact information, by DHS.

A spokesperson for The Mint pharmacy, which has a Tempe and a Mesa location, said sales will begin today (Friday) at 4:20 PM.

Territory, which has dispensaries in Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa, says it will also start selling at its locations at 4:20 p.m.

Curaleaf, which has eight pharmacies in the state, began sales at its stores at noon.

Harvest Health and Recreation operates 15 dispensaries in the state. CEO Steve White explains New times “12 or 13” of these have been approved to date and are open and already selling recreational marijuana, including the Scottsdale location at 15190 N. Hayden.

“We completed our first sale in 17 seconds, I think, after getting state approval today,” White said. “I expect to see lines outside the door today and probably all weekend, but I think traffic should return to normal after that.”

The approval comes after 60 percent of Arizona voters backed the state’s latest effort to legalize recreational marijuana – Proposition 207 – in November.

The new law allows adults aged 21 or older to own up to one ounce of marijuana, up to five grams of which are concentrates, and grow up to six cannabis plants at home. The law also allows medical marijuana pharmacies to start selling to recreational users after state approval. That has now started.

Specifically, the measure required the Arizona Department of Health Services to begin accepting applications from early applicants on January 19: either existing dispensaries or applicants seeking to open one in a county that already has fewer than two dispensaries.

Some have seen this as a way for the existing industry, which funded the initiative campaign, to get the limited number of licenses and maintain a monopoly in the market. But it is also a way to avoid the logistical hiccups that slowed rollout in states that were trying to build a whole new recreational cannabis system from scratch.

The law gives government agencies 60 days from when the early application period ends on March 9 to start issuing licenses, but dispensaries expected the state to issue the licenses much earlier – and it seems that has happened.

Sam Richard, executive director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association, said sellers had earned the trust of government officials, paving the way for prompt approval.

“They are known quantities,” he said. “They are well-known entities to the regulators.”

While some in the industry expected an immediate rubber stamp and would start selling on January 20, Richard said it took a little longer to get applications than expected and background checks required fingerprints in person.

“The [Arizona Department of Health Services] itself is concerned not to be the body that gets in the way of adult use of cannabis, ”he said.

An agency spokesman said New times last week that licenses are issued on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning the number of dispensaries offering recreational products is likely to continue to increase in the coming days. At some point, the state will also license 26 new dispensaries through a social equality program, but the details have yet to be worked out.

A spokesperson said ADHS said the agency had already received 61 applications by Wednesday afternoon.

Some local producers expect a turnover growth of 3x. Item 9 Labs Chief Revenue Officer Bryce Skalla said the company needed to find additional space to store the extra packaging they had stored

“We have gigantic freight containers … just full of packaging,” he said. “Where do you put a million pots?”

Skalla also warned that for anyone trying marijuana products for the first time in decades, today’s products are a lot stronger. He recommends getting a quarter of what you think you should get.

Recreational sales are also subject to a 16 percent state tax, and you can still get in trouble if you smoke in public or drive stoned, so be smart!

The atmosphere outside the Curaleaf location in south-central Phoenix was festive just after 2:30 PM. Two fast moving rows of recreational and medical clients were separated by a velvet rope while a DJ played.

Friends AJ Johnson and Bobby Jones were figuring out how to get their orders lined up before going in. Johnson told me Phoenix New Times that he was trying to buy the best flour they had.

“We want that shit that gets you high for two days,” he said.

Behind them in line, welder Erick Fonseca said he had come right after work after getting a news alert on his phone. He was hoping to buy some edibles this weekend to enjoy with the weather.

“I’m just glad I don’t have to get it off the street,” he said. “It’s time they did something smart.”

Not everyone was enthusiastic about legalization.

“Now I have to wait in a long line,” said medical patient West Scott. He plans to keep his card to avoid the 16 percent excise tax on recreational sales.

To add to the festive atmosphere, Mesa chef Jacquelynn Hanley was hired to provide the catering. She served lemon chicken, spiced green beans, pasta salad, and a mixed green salad. Hanley said she usually catered for fancy events so this was a nice change.

“Everyone here has been very relaxed and chilly,” she said. “They are not picky at all.”

At Curaleaf’s Midtown location in Phoenix, about 30 people queued just before 5pm. Many had come as soon as they heard on the news that recreational sales had begun.

“I just found out when I was going to drop off my packages at UPS,” said Kisha Vega while waiting in line.

Nick Harper lives nearby and came as soon as he saw a news report on Instagram that sales were going on. He has a few cartridges that he uses to self-medicate his leg.

“It makes it a lot easier to get it for myself,” he said.

Keith Morris, a Curaleaf employee, helped people make reservations before entering. He said the crowd had been quite diverse.

“I think people know what they want,” he said.

Chella Marie had driven to the store from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community with her brother and two grown children, as there are no dispensaries on the reservation. Marie has some concentrate for tonight. After doing Fry Bread Friday for dinner, she plans to consume some cannabis and then put together a playground for her grandchildren.

“Grandma will laugh and sing with them,” she said.

While an elderly medical patient chose not to wait in line, others were happy that other people were allowed access. Teacher Emily Bacon saw legalization as a snapshot of Arizona growing young and diverse.

“It’s nice to be a part of that,” she said.

(This story was updated a few hours after publishing.)

Here’s the list: