Legal marijuana sales begin amid uncertainty in Colorado

http://gazette.com/legal-marijuana-sales-begin-amid-uncertainty-in-colorado/article/1511728



In this Dec. 5, 2013 photo, a worker processes marijuana in the trimming room at the Medicine Man dispensary and grow operation in northeast Denver. Colorado prepares to be the first in the nation to allow recreational pot sales, opening Jan. 1.

Legal marijuana sales begin amid uncertainty in Colorado
KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press •
Updated: December 29, 2013 at 6:27 pm • Published: December 29, 2013

DENVER — A gleaming white Apple store of weed is how Andy Williams sees his new Denver marijuana dispensary.

Two floors of pot-growing rooms will have windows showing the shopping public how the mind-altering plant is grown. Shoppers will be able to peruse drying marijuana buds and see pot trimmers at work separating the valuable flowers from the less-prized stems and leaves.

"It's going to be all white and beautiful," the 45-year-old ex-industrial engineer explains, excitedly gesturing around what just a few weeks ago was an empty warehouse space that will eventually house 40,000 square feet of cannabis strains.

As Colorado prepares to be the first in the nation to allow recreational pot sales, opening Jan. 1, hopeful retailers like Williams are investing their fortunes into the legal recreational pot world — all for a chance to build even bigger ones in a fledgling industry that faces an uncertain future.