California to welcome cannabis for sale and consumption at state fair

Annual event in July will be first US state fair to feature on-site marijuana dispensaries and competitions

California's state fair has moved to become the first event of its kind by allowing the sale and consumption of marijuana on its grounds when its 2024 edition unfolds in July.

Fair planners on Tuesday announced the decision to allow visitors to buy and use cannabis at the 17-day event beginning 12 July, touting it as a watershed moment in the relationship between weed and the US, where about half of Americans now live in states where marijuana is legalized. Among those states is California, which legalized marijuana production in 2016 - and is on track to be the first to sell cannabis legally at a fair, officials said.