Pubdate: Thu, 02 Jan 2014
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
Section: page A1
Copyright: 2014 PG Publishing Co., Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/pm4R4dI4
Website: http://www.post-gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/341
Author: Niraj Chokshi, The Washington Post

REEFER MADNESS ARRIVES IN COLORADO AS SALES BEGIN

DENVER - At 8 a.m. on New Year's Day, in an industrial area a few
miles from downtown Denver, a former Marine named Sean Azzariti walked
into a giant store and bought a bag of weed. Legally. To smoke just
for fun, if he's so inclined.

Mr. Azzariti's transaction Wednesday - 3.5 grams of Bubba Kush for $40
and 50 mg of Truffles for an additional $9.28 - was the first in the
state's grand experiment in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

The first-in-the-nation law was greeted with long lines at retailers
and a lot of "Rocky Mountain High" jokes. But beyond the buzz, the
measure represented the institution of a major new public policy in
America - one opponents fear will turn the state into a dangerous land
of debauchery and that backers hope sets a nationwide precedent.

If Colorado is able to successfully legalize marijuana without causing
a social backlash, the tourism, tax and other considerations are
likely to compel several other states to quickly follow suit.

Backers say enough signatures have been collected to put legalization
before voters this year in Alaska. Oregon would probably come next,
and by 2016, they hope to see measures on the ballot in six other
states: Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana and Nevada.
Supporters are also hopeful that lawmakers will push for legalization
in Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Washington state has legalized pot, but sales there won't begin for at
least a few months.

If problems arise in Colorado - whether that means residents get sick
of stoner-tourism or there are a rash of marijuana-related accidents
or crimes - it could set back a decades-old movement that has gained
substantial momentum in recent years.

Experts say there really is no way to know which way it will go.
"Nobody on Earth has ever done this before," said Jonathan Caulkins, a
drug policy expert and professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

Before Wednesday, the pro-marijuana movement's biggest breakthrough
came in 1996, when California became the first state in modern history
to allow marijuana use of any kind when it approved medicinal use. Now
20 states and the District of Columbia allow it.

Colorado has approved 136 licenses for retail sales, three-fourths in
the city and county of Denver and all at sites that have been legally
selling marijuana for medical purposes. Eighteen city stores had
completed the full process in time to open Wednesday. State officials
expect dozens more to open across the state, and some have estimated
that pot sales could add more than $200 million to Colorado's economy.

Colorado residents 21 and older are allowed to buy up to an ounce of
marijuana per transaction, and out-of-state customers are allowed to
purchase up to a quarter-ounce.

Mr. Azzariti's involvement was not by chance. He was active in the
campaign to legalize recreational sales and, although he can use the
pot however he pleases, the veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars
said he needs it to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.

His purchase was the culmination of a large media event hosted by
advocates and the industry. Dozens of reporters filled the 3D Cannabis
Center for a 7:30 a.m. news conference as customers waited in line
outside, where a light snow was falling. News releases were
distributed, and advocates were on hand for interviews. Other stores
welcomed press, too, with media handlers in tow.

Toni Fox, the owner of the 3D Cannabis Center, where Mr. Azzariti made
his purchase, said she expects her average monthly revenue of $30,000
to grow more than eightfold, to $250,000, once improvements are made.

Doors also opened 8 a.m. at Medicine Man, which boasts an even larger,
20,000-square-foot production space that the owners expect to double.

At Medicine Man, two nonresidents who bought the legal limit of a
quarter-ounce of marijuana said it cost roughly $130. Prices are
expected to remain high in the short term, with only a few retailers
and a lot of demand. But over the long term, experts expect prices to
fall with competition.

At Medicine Man, where the line Wednesday morning was as many as 75
deep by 10 a.m., a security guard checking identification at the door
estimated that well over half of the customers were from out of state.
One customer, Kevin Schatz of Nebraska, said his 90-minute wait and
the taxes paid were "well worth it."

Not everyone was celebrating Colorado's new marijuana reality
Wednesday.

"Today, we're witnessing the dawn of Big Marijuana, in a similar way
that we had Big Tobacco for over 80 years," said Kevin Sabet, who
co-founded Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) with former
Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy. "We're opening the doors to
allowing a new, powerful industry to downplay the effects of a
substance they will be profiting off of and to downplay the effects of
addiction."

Mr. Sabet, who worked in the White House's Office of National Drug
Control Policy during the first Obama administration and serves as
director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida,
said the negative consequences of marijuana legalization include
advertising aimed at kids, an increase in drugged driving incidents
and a spillover of marijuana from Colorado into surrounding states,
where the drug remains illegal.

Opponents of legalization face an uphill battle. In October, Gallup
reported that a clear majority of Americans favor legalization - the
first time it found such results since tracking began in 1969. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D