License to deal.

New York Times, this mid-item excerpt:

Now, any Colorado resident who is 21 can buy up to an ounce of marijuana at one of the 40 dispensaries that began selling to retail customers on Wednesday. Out-of-state visitors can buy a quarter-ounce, but they have to use it within the state. Carrying marijuana across state lines remains illegal, and the plant is not allowed at the Denver International Airport.

Washington’s marijuana system is at least several months behind Colorado, meaning that fully stocked retail shelves probably will not be a reality at the consumer level until perhaps June.

While Colorado incorporates the existing medical marijuana system, Washington is starting from scratch, with all of the production and sale of recreational marijuana linked to the new system of licenses, which will not be issued until late February or early March.

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“After that, it’s up to the industry to get it up and running,” said Mikhail Carpenter, a spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Control Board, which regulates the system and is processing almost 5,000 license applications to grow, process or sell.

Growers can start a crop only after they get a license, Mr. Carpenter said, and retailers can sell only marijuana produced in-state by licensed growers when that crop comes in.