Sean Azzariti, of Denver, an Iraq war veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, made the first purchase of recreational marijuana under legalization at the 3D Cannabis Center in Denver on Jan. 1, 2014. Colorado became the first U.S. state to allow the sale of recreational marijuana. Mason Tvert was managing the onslaught of media that descended on the Mile High City to witness the historic moment, set in motion by the successful legalization campaign he’d led.
Customers wait in line to enter LoDo Wellness in Denver, which by noon had given out more than 600 entrance tickets on the first day of retail sales of recreational marijuana in Colorado on Jan. 1, 2014. Advocates say the stigma still associated with cannabis has led to over-regulation that’s cutting into already-thin margins. Sales have decreased and prices have fallen since the pandemic, causing worry that business may become impractical without changes to state and federal laws.. That means it is considered by the U.S. government to have no accepted medical use as well as a high potential for abuse, alongside drugs such as heroin and LSD.
But things are slowly changing. In August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended that the Drug Enforcement AdministrationPresident Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people for marijuana crimes While Colorado experienced inevitable hiccups, he said, the sector today is, for the most part, just another industry helping to power the state’s economy.LEFT: Two of the first customers inside, Owen Provorse, left, and Eric Raubach, check out the strains that are available for them to purchase on the first day of recreational marijuana sales in Colorado at High Country Healing in Silverthorne on Jan. 1, 2014.
Since 2014, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has been monitoring drug use in adolescents and adults. In, the agency noted the frequency of youth consumption has “not changed since legalization.” However, how young people consume changed over time, with the agency reporting increases in dabbing concentrates and vaping weed oil.in the 30 days preceding the survey was similar to the national average .
A sign advertising the sale of cannabis in Moffat is seen on April 20, 2022. The small town in the San Luis Valley near the Sand Dunes allows recreational cannabis sales. Other towns close to Moffat voted no to legal cannabis stores opening in their towns on a ballot issue voted upon on April 5. Cannabis isn’t universally available statewide, despite Colorado boasting more than 1,000 medical and recreational dispensaries, some of them in combined storefronts.