DENVER—Colorado legalized recreational marijuana in 2012 and became the first state in the U.S. to launch storefront sales in January 2014. As Canada prepares to legalize pot on July 1, 2018, here are some words of wisdom from current and former officials in the state:
Andrew Freedman, Colorado’s former director of marijuana co-ordination:
Truly engage with stakeholders and the community. “This is a divisive issue that a lot of people have an opinion about, so the more those people are involved in shaping the vision of what this looks like, first of all the vision will get better, but secondly you won’t tear apart the community.”
READ MORE: Canada Cannabis News
Lewis Koski, former deputy senior director of enforcement at the Colorado Department of Revenue:
State — or in Canada’s case, provincial — governments need to embrace the fact that legalization is happening and ensure their agencies are working well together. “One indicator of success in jurisdictions is when the executive government branch really supports the notion that legalization has occurred, that it’s coming, and they’re looking at ways to implement that as efficiently as possible.”
