Recreational marijuana is becoming legal in Massachusetts — legal, but not readily available.

The ballot question approved by voters Nov. 8 is scheduled to go into effect Thursday, allowing adults to have limited quantities of marijuana for recreational purposes and grow pot plants in their homes. The catch: It’s still illegal to sell marijuana in Massachusetts — except to registered medical marijuana patients — and will remain so for at least a year until the first pot shops are licensed and regulated.

For now, it’s smoke ’em if you got ’em.

“For the average citizen … this is going to mean they have to wait a while until they can go into a store or facility and purchase marijuana over the counter,” said Martin Healy, chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Bar Association.

Healy and other legal analysts say the lag-time and other provisions in the new law could initially cause confusion for marijuana users and possibly law enforcement, as well. [Read more at WBUR]