At the beginning of the new year, at eight o'clock A. M. local time, hot pot enthusiasts from all over the state lined up to become one of the first residents to legally participate in the $0. 578 billion market.
Some people have been waiting since one o'clock A. M.
"I want to be one of the first people to buy marijuana and no longer be prosecuted for that.
"The ban should have ended long ago," said Jesse Phillips, a Colorado cannabis enthusiast . ".
State residents can now legally indulge themselves in an ounce of marijuana from more than 30 stores opened across the state.
Residents in other states can buy up to one
25 points per ounce
However, weed lovers can increase their daily limit by shopping and buying legally allocated amounts from different suppliers.
Buyers are only allowed to own up to an ounce of plants under state law.
The state's forecast is to sell $0. 578 billion worth of cannabis products and generate about $67 million in taxes for $27.
5 million designated for school construction.
"I feel good.
"The money will go to school," Denver's Joseph Torres said while waiting in line . ".
Overall, about 130 stores were licensed to sell the drug last month, and another 200 were approved by the state's cannabis law enforcement department.
On the basis of the usual sales tax 2, operating the industry will receive a state tax of 25%. 9%.
"Things are really going well," Denver Cannabis Policy Executive Director Ashley Kilroy said at a press conference on Wednesday after the first sale . ".
"We really don't see a negative impact.
The voters have already spoken.
"We have to enforce these laws," Kilroy said . ".
Since 2012, it has been legal in Colorado to grow, own and personally use marijuana, according to the state constitution.
But by 2014, cannabis sales will now help finance the country, where cannabis can now be produced, sold and taxed.
Musician James Allen Ramsey said in Colorado: "When I get home, I box up the receipt to remind myself what's possible: it's legal everywhere . ".
As soon as the store started selling, the Denver Police Department posted a link to the state and local legislative sites on Twitter, "Do you know the law ".
Whether Colorado's historic step will be prosecuted by the federal government remains to be seen, as marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.
But shopkeepers want the Justice Department to say in a memo issued to federal prosecutors in August that they should not be prosecuted for recreational marijuana, which will prevent them from carrying out drug law enforcement management (DEA)and FBI raids.
Those who oppose the legalization of recreational uses of cannabis warn that sales will increase the consumption of minors and lead to more drug addicts.
"It's a battle, and if we catch it early enough, we can prevent some of the worst adverse effects due to the commercial market for promoting alcohol use to young people, former representative of the United States Patrick Kennedy
The founder of the cannabis smart approach project told Reuters.
Ben Cort of the Colorado dependency, addiction and rehabilitation center at the University of Colorado Hospital told The Associated Press: "It's just throwing gas at the fire . ".
All in all, Colorado has two sets of policies on weeds, medical and recreational.
In 2012, Colorado passed Amendment 64, allowing adults to grow three immature and three mature plants privately and legally, and to obtain all cannabis from the harvest of the plant.
Residents are allowed to carry an ounce of marijuana and provide the same amount to other adults.
In 2000, Colorado voters approved state constitutional amendment 20, which allows the use of marijuana for approved patients with the consent of doctors.
Under this amendment, patients may have up to 2 ounces of medicinal cannabis, and no more than 6 cannabis plants are grown.
Washington also voted in November 2012 to legalize marijuana and will open a marijuana retail store later in 2014.
Nearly 20 states, including Colorado and Washington, have struggled with the federal government by approving marijuana for medical purposes.