Almost four years ago, Colorado became the first state in the United States to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes. Ironically, the Governor of Colorado, Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), was always against legalization; in fact, he even called it “reckless.” But it has been two tears since cannabis began being legally sold in Colorado and it seems as though Hickenlooper has done a 180 on the issue. Not too long ago, there was a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, where he stated that although he himself was not against legalization, his job was to “deliver on the will of the people of Colorado.”
“If I had that magic wand now, I don’t know if I would wave it,” Hickenlooper said. “It’s beginning to look like it might work.”
It was only very recent in some comments that in seems as though the Governor of Colorado has changed his mind about cannabis. A year ago, in April, Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo interviewed him. Hickenlooper admitted that legal marijuana was “not as vexing as we thought it was going to be.”
In addition, while the governor was on “60 Minutes,” he guessed that Colorado may “actually create a system that could work” when it comes to legal marijuana. It’s true; there were definitely some problems when marijuana was first legalized. Even then, that is to be expected with every new major move.
However, now, things are going much better. For instance, crime has decreased, unemployment has dropped, and the cannabis industry has generated $100 million in revenue. This world definitely does not only exist in Colorado, and even those who have fought against legalization are changing their mind. Since Colorado legalized recreational cannabis, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia followed their footsteps. Many states are going to vote on legal marijuana this autumn.
