Washington has become the second state in the U.S. to legally sell marijuana without a doctor's note, as eager customers lined up outside stores to be the first customers on Tuesday.

Bellingham's Top Shelf Cannabis was one of the two stores that started selling recreational marijuana in the city north of Seattle. Their customers started purchasing at 8:00 a.m. on the very same day it started to become legal under state regulations.

Some of the first customers just happened to be in the state as a happy coincidence and they decided not to let the opportunity pass them by. It's not every day that marijuana becomes legalized in a state and the legalization in Washington was 20 years in the making.

Colorado was the first state to sell marijuana in January despite the fact that both states voted to legalize the product by voting in November 2012. Recreational cannabis may be sold to adults over the age of 21 and the states may issue a license for growing, taxing, and selling the pot.

The first 24 retail licenses were issued by Washington on Monday, although not all businesses decided to sell right away on Tuesday due to logistical difficulties. Growers and sellers scrambled to prepare to satisfy the expected demand and avoid a shortage of the product. Because of the imbalance of supply and demand, prices were expected to reach $25 per gram or higher, around twice its unregulated cost.

While more than 2,600 applicants filed to become licensed growers, only less than a hundred have been approved -- and only around a dozen were ready for harvesting early this month, according to Fox News.

Colorado had a smoother transition in legalizing recreational marijuana as they have previously had a regulated medical marijuana system, while Washington's system for medical use is unregulated, making them start from scratch in making the regulations.