Marijuana sales topped $1 million across Colorado on Wednesday, the first day that the state allowed for the sale of recreational marijuana.
The first day of legalized pot in Colorado was met with long lines as residents rushed to buy pot legally. Though most said they were already smokers, buying the drug legally was a big deal for many.
“It’s a huge deal for me,” said Andre Barr, a 34-year-old deliveryman who drove from Michigan to purchase marijuana. “This wait is nothing.”
Colorado became the first state to fully legalize marijuana, allowing people to purchase it without a doctor’s note. The state has 24 shops selling pot, most of them in Denver, but there are hundred of applications pending for recreational pot growers, retailers, and processors.
Buyers must be 21 years or older to buy marijuana, and on the first day of legalized sales state regulators were visible making sure it was enforced.
Though Colorado may go the furthest in allowing marijuana, several other states are easing regulations of the drug. National polls suggest the highest support for legalized pot ever, with a poll last year showing that 58 percent of respondents believe that marijuana should be legal.
While much of the United States and indeed the entire world is looking to Colorado to see if its system of legalized marijuana works, experts in the state predict robust sales . In a state that once boasted more marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks, Colorado is expected to ring up more than $600 million in marijuana sales the first year.
Experts also believe along with the strong growth of legalized marijuana sales in Colorado, the market in the state will also grow from 105,000 medical pot users to 643,000 adults.