For the first time in 70 years, legal recreational marijuana sales commenced in Colorado Wednesday, marking the beginning of a new year and, many hope, a new era for legalization.
Customers lined up outside roughly 37 stores across the state, which were fully licensed to sell marijuana to anyone 21 and older—no other questions asked—this year, following a statewide ballot initiative in November 2012 when 55% of voters approved legalization in the state.
“The era of marijuana prohibition is officially over in Colorado,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the largest financial backer of the campaign in support of Amendment 64. “The state is demonstrating to the rest of the nation and the entire world that regulating marijuana works.”
“It’s only a matter of time before lawmakers and voters in more states adopt similar laws regulating marijuana like alcohol,” Kampia said. “The dominoes are falling.”
The Denver Post reports:
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