As far as drug policy goes, a lot of the momentum in Colorado came from some simple observations after enough experience with licensed medical dispensaries. Wit

As far as drug policy goes, a lot of the momentum in Colorado came from some simple observations after enough experience with licensed medical dispensaries. With enough local access to a grey market, trafficking across international borders vanished. The economics involved here involve the difference between the cost of something, the value of something, the difficulty of producing it, and the difficulty of distributing it. What is unique about marijuana is that it is, indeed, as easy to produce as a tomato, which is a garden vegetable anyone can grow easily anywhere in the world. (I'm unaware of any jurisdictions where it is illegal to grow and consume tomatoes. Transporting them across state lines, though?) Plants like tobacco are much more climate restricted. Plants like hops are incredibly easy to grow. So you see plenty of people brewing their own beer at home, but nobody making their own cigarettes at home. You're misunderstanding what I'm saying about changes at the federal level, though. The warehouse space in Denver county is rapidly filling up purely based on supply and demand within Colorado. Sure, there's some tourism, but If the DEA rescheduled cannabis and nothing else, then almost nothing would change about the commercial real estate market in Denver. If nothing changes at the federal level, then almost nothing would change about the commercial real estate market in Denver. Also, this just happend: http://fox40.com/2015/11/02/ballot-initiative-filed-to-legalize-marijuana-in-california/ http://fox40.com/2015/11/02/ballot-initiative-filed-to-legal... I was unaware of this until I decided to research it just now, because I don't really care about this issue in California because I don't live there. I was responding to the original commenter because it really is unsafe to hike in Humboldt County, regardless of whether you care about marijuana. This is something that affects the poster directly. And I'm not saying I want to repeal the law in Colorado, but it's definitely having an unexpected negative effect on my neighborhood, and this is unlikely to change. Whatever industrial / warehouse space that isn't being demolished to turn into condos, is used up by the regulated marijuana industry. There is no longer any cheap real estate anywhere near me that is suitable for a hackerspace. Since the hackerspaces can move, and the marijuana processing facilities can't (until the laws change at the county level), this affects me in my backyard, regardless of how they deal with the practical legislative refinements. And because Colorado regulators were first out the gate, regulators in almost every other state that moves forward this way will use that as a model. I'm not saying we shouldn't care about violence in Mexico, but it's just not something that's going to be on the mind of most voters as these ballot measures gain momentum in other states. There will be unrelated economic sectors in Colorado and other early adopter states that will suffer ripple effects. If those ripple effects reach any special interest group here, then similar special interest groups elsewhere will fight harder against these initiatives.