Colorado Cannabis Users Celebrate Legal Marijuana Sales

About two dozen pot stores opened for business for the second consecutive day in the US state of Colorado after marijuana sale were legalised.

Coloradans and out-of-state dope fans braved the cold weather and lined up outside the stores eager to purchase their first dose of legal weed.

The legislation put Colorado in the forefront of a new approach to the so-called war on drugs when it became the first jurisdiction in the world to license the sale and possession of cannabis.

"I'm going to frame the receipt when I go home, to remind myself of what might be possible. Legal everywhere," said James Ramsey, who served a brief jail sentence for pot possession less than a year ago.

Colorado voters approved the landmark law to legalise legal recreational marijuana sales in 2012.

"Honestly, I thought I'd never see the day," said Errin Reaume.

The first buyer at one store was Sean Azzariti, a 32-year-old Iraq war veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and had long campaigned for legalisation.

He bought an eighth of an ounce of 'Bubba Kush' marijuana and an edible truffle for about $60 (£36).

Azzariti tweeted:

Under the law, Coloradans aged 21 and over can buy up to 1oz (28g), while "foreigners" can purchase a quarter. Similar regulations are expected to be introduced in the state of Washington later this year.

Taking marijuana out of Colorado is banned.

"I've been waiting 34 years for this moment," Denver resident Chrissy Robinson told the Denver Post. "I've been smoking since I was 14. No more sneaking around."

According to the law marijuana cannot be consumed openly and publicly and must therefore be used indoors in private.

A few dozen stores have opened for business and more than 100 other have been given licences to sell marijuana.

"Adults have been buying marijuana around this country for years," said Mason Tvert, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.

"The only difference is that in Colorado they will now buy it from legitimate businesses instead of the underground market."