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Retail sales of marijuana for recreational purposes got underway at newly-licensed stores
in Colorado on New Year's Day. In Denver, TV cameras and journalists filled the city's
Discreet Dispensary, as the store's first customer, Sean Azzariti, purchased a legal
amount of marijuana. The Iraq war veteran said he purchased marijuana to alleviate symptoms
of post-traumatic stress disorder.
I use recreational cannabis to help alleviate my PTSD and it's a stepping stone for other
states to help other veterans, as well.
Personal consumption, possession and cultivation of marijuana has been legal for adults in
Colorado for more than a year. But as of Wednesday, cannabis was being being sold and taxed in
a system similar to the way alcohol is distributed.
In Colorado we expect almost $400 million dollars in sales next year. Across the nation,
the marijuana industries will create $2.34 billion dollars of economic activity.
Voters in Washington state voted to legalise marijuana at the same time Colorado did, in
November 2012, but Washington is not slated to open its first retail stores until later
this year.