Jun 25, 2018
‘It’s a mixed bag’: Former Colorado governor on the pros and cons of legalizing pot
Former Colorado governor Bill Ritter warns that Canada must weigh both the pros and cons of regulating cannabis, as the country gears up for recreational pot legalization on Oct. 17.
“I say it’s a mixed bag because we have experienced significant revenue,” Ritter told BNN Bloomberg in an interview Monday.
“We tax recreational marijuana pretty heavily. We don’t tax medical marijuana. But we have now much better than a $1-billion industry in Colorado,” he added, noting the state has a population of less than 6 million people.
But Ritter also warns of the downsides to legalization.
“Part of it — as the first state, along with Washington, to legalize marijuana — meant there were going to be some people that were going to come to Colorado as a destination so that they could smoke,” Ritter said. “I wouldn’t say this is the biggest problem, but it is certainly, I think, a significant problem.”
He said the bigger problem was that people believed once marijuana was legal, law enforcement would step back entirely.
“You can’t just grow marijuana anywhere at any amount,” Ritter said. “You can’t sell it anywhere. You can’t sell it on the side of the street. You have to have a permit. But, there were some illegal grow operations that were here. Some of them operated by gangs from outside of the state who believed law enforcement was going to be lax. So I think there was some kind of criminal element as well.”
“It’s not a wholesale victory, it’s not a wholesale defeat,” he added, weighing the benefits of the increase in revenue with the social ramifications. “But, you have to constantly keep your eye out for how you regulate it in a way that is for the well-being of people who are using it.”
Ritter also said one of the biggest myths around legalization was that it would decrease policing costs and that prison numbers would go down – neither of which has happened, he said.
He also said he thinks there will generally be more consolidation in the industry as it becomes a less-risky space in which to invest.
“Over time, big companies are going to look at this as an investment opportunity when you start de-risking it,” Ritter said. “You’re going to see big industry players, even from other industries, view this as an economic opportunity.”
