Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center, 8060 E. 22nd St., opened to recreational sales yesterday.
Desert Bloom, which carries a wide range of flower, edibles, concentrates, lotions and similar products, follows midtown dispensary Harvest, which began recreational sales last Friday.
Other dispensaries are expected to start offering the sales in the coming weeks after the Arizona Department of Health Services allowed recreational cannabis sales to begin, letting dispensary owners know adult-use recreational sales can move forward as soon as licenses are approved and dispensaries are set up to handle both aspects of the market.
Applications for adult-use sales began on Jan. 19, but were restricted to existing medical marijuana establishments that qualified for early "dual license" applications. The language of Proposition 207 that legalized cannabis use for adults over the age of 21 gave AZDHS two months to review and approve applications.
By the end of last week week, though, 86 licenses had been approved. Several Tucson dispensaries have also been authorized for recreational sales, including Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center, Green Med/Purple Med (6464 E. Tanque Verde and 1010 S. Freeway Drive), Prime Leaf (4220 E. Speedway and 1525 N. Park Ave.) and Nature Med (5390 W. Ina Road in Marana).
Nature Med has announced it will open to recreational sales on Feb. 25 and Prime Leaf is shooting for March 1.
Most dispensaries are not yet ready to start recreational sales, as there are several barriers to immediately expanding, not the least of which is the current state of the coronavirus pandemic still raging through the state.
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