Under the new Washington state law, adults can possess about 28 grams of the drug. There is still no legal way to buy marijuana, however, except for medical use, until a production and distribution system is put in place in December.

Recreational marijuana will be controlled by the state liquor control board, and state officials are busy learning about cannabis and its effects on users. They face a steep learning curve. They have decades of experience with alcohol, but little with marijuana.

Recreational marijuana will be heavily taxed and the industry could be huge. State and local officials hope to gain hundreds of million dollars in needed income.

They also hope to save money from not having to prosecute and jail marijuana users. Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes said marijuana laws have been applied disproportionately to racial minorities, as he saw upon taking office in 2010.

"That was an eye-opening experience for me, because of all the pending cases. Fifty-nine to 60 percent were against African Americans in a city with a seven percent African-American population, and a progressive city, I would add," said Holmes.

Marijuana will be heavily regulated under the new law, and dispensaries will be barred from locations near schools and public parks.

Psychologist Steve Freng works for a joint federal-local law enforcement program called the Northwest High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, and said many questions about the new Washington State law remain unanswered.