Here's when you can start legally buying weed in California

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"I have to wait how long?"

Californians voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on Election Day.

But sales are still a ways away.

Proposition 64 provides for over a dozen types of licenses issued to marijuana-selling dispensaries that allows them to cultivate, test, distribute, and sell bud. The Bureau of Marijuana Control has until January 1, 2018, to begin issuing those licenses.

It creates a Catch-22. Though it's legal for Californians over the age of 21 (and adults visiting the state) to possess and grow marijuana starting immediately, there's no place to buy it legally.

Those eager to light up before 2018 can still do so by becoming a medical marijuana patient. And if you happen to find yourself in possession of a friend's bud, that's cool, too. Proposition 64 allows adults to walk around in public with up to an ounce of marijuana, enough to fill a sandwich baggy. They can also "gift" an ounce to another adult 21 years of age or older.

Marijuana users will need to find a private place to toke, however. It remains illegal to smoke or eat edibles in public, unless allowed by a local ordinance, or within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, and other places where children gather. Driving under the influence is prohibited.

People caught smoking a joint in public can expect to face a fine around $100.