LOS ANGELES — California on Thursday issued its first batch of business licenses for the state’s upcoming legal marijuana market, setting the stage for sales to begin in January.

The first temporary license was awarded to Pure CA, which does business as Moxie brand products, a company known for its cannabis extracts.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Moxie CEO Jordan Lams, who credited “a lot of the stars aligning” for being awarded the first distributor license for recreational pot.

“California has been without regulations for a very long time. So there is going to be a transition period,” he added, referring to the changes coming in 2018 with legal cultivation and sales.

The release of the initial 20 temporary licenses, good for 120 days, represents another steppingstone toward legal purchases, which were approved by voters last year.

“We plan to issue many more before Jan. 1,” Lori Ajax, the state’s top marijuana regulator, said in a statement.