60 Minutes Examines a Year of Marijuana Legalization in Colorado

60 Minutes brings us an inside look at the marijuana industry in Colorado where business is evidently thriving. The feature first brings us inside a marijuana food and wine party catered to young professionals in Denver, considered the epicenter of the marijuana industry. The food is sprinkled with marijuana, the band’s musicians take tokes, and the red wine is infused with the smoke of a local strain that was hand-chosen by the bartender as a wine pairing. Events like these are not uncommon in the Mile-High city.

Colorado law invokes that residents aged 21+ years can buy up to one ounce at any of the 300+ state-licensed stores, which have flourished from the medical dispensary to a variety of shops like the corner stores riddled throughout Denver to the high-end boutique placed by Prada and Gucci in Aspen. Colorado Amendment 64 passed November 2012 with a 53% vote that thrust Colorado into the spotlight as the second state in the U.S., after Washington, to legalize recreational marijuana use. While medical marijuana has been legalized in three other states and has been so in Colorado since 2001, recreational legalization is a milestone. No other state has ever exhibited such fast-paced growth, and perceptions of the whole industry are transforming. Social attitudes have evolved. While there are some who struggle with accepting a mind shift, parents are cited as being curious rather than being critical. Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, who initially opposed legalization, calls it “the most ambitious social experiment of the 21st century.” Foreseeing the explosive boom, business owners acted quick to grasp the opportunity offered by the fledgling industry.

Interestingly enough, almost all facets of the marijuana industry is dealt entirely in cash — from licensing fees and taxes to vendors, electricians and even payroll. This is wholly due to the fact that banks will not touch the money while marijuana is still illegal federally. And yet, the industry has raked in $288 million USD in sales and $37 million USD in tax revenue. The numbers only prove this is a real business of industrial agriculture with its commercial grow-ops — far different from the stoner’s backyard or the drug dealer’s basement.  Other businesses have also experienced explosive growth as a result, like marketing, security and web-hosting.

And the justice department scrutinizes every step of the way. While feds will only step in when kids are involved, all plants are tracked from seed to sale. Only licensed operators can grow plants, which are housed in warehouses with camera surveillance. For tracking purposes, each plant is tagged with a bar-coded radio-frequency ID and logged into a state-wide database. Edibles require a label with details of potency. Stores are regulated to check customers’ IDs. The state agency department heads of revenue, health, law and education also regularly meet to discuss balancing the demands of the people, safety and the law.

The positive effects of recreational legalization seem extraordinary. But while you can walk into a dispensary and buy a joint for about $14.50 USD, there still exists the temptation of buying marijuana from a drug dealer for less. There are huge efforts across departments to diminish the black market. Neighboring states Nebraska and Oklahoma are in the midst of suing the Supreme Court on the basis that Colorado marijuana is crossing their borders for out-of-state shipping. As it’s only been just over one year since implementation of the amended laws, 60 Minutes’ feature shows us the potential the industry has, and that cannabis counterculture can be accepted into everyday culture. Check out the video above.