First-ever marijuana growers' fair opens in Oregon

(AP) — People flocked to Oregon's first-ever marijuana growers' fair on Saturday where a competition for best pot plants will be held, with the winning entries to be displayed at the Oregon State Fair.

The inaugural two-day event being held in an exhibition hall on the Oregon State Fairgrounds underscores how the once-illicit marijuana industry is starting to go mainstream in Oregon, one of four states to have legalized recreational marijuana use, along with Washington, D.C.

Reggae music thumped from Savant Plant Technologies' display on Friday as owner James Knox, 38, of Corvallis, set up his do-it-yourself grow package, including peat and microorganisms to stimulate plant growth.

Nine winning entries of a pot-plant competition at this fair will be displayed in two weeks at the Oregon State Fair, along with more traditional items like tomatoes, hogs and horses.

Jerry Fee, owner of NorthWest Safe Sales of Oregon City, uses the banking impediment as a business opportunity and was setting up a display at the growers' fair including four formidable-looking safes.