Shops Make Final Preparations For Recreational Pot Sales

DENVER (CBS4) –Starting on Wednesday Colorado will be the first state to legally sell recreational marijuana and shops are trying to make sure their first day goes smoothly.

"The people most concerned about these businesses following the rules are these businesses themselves," said Mason Tvert.

Tvert was one of Amendment 64's authors and is now trying to get marijuana legalized in other states.

He says Colorado cities that opted out of the new law will regret that decision soon and likely try to reverse it.

"Ultimately most local leaders are going to come to recognize that marijuana is a less harmful product than alcohol and its absurd to force your citizens to travel to other places to purchase it," said Tvert.

Dozens of existing medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to switch to retail shops in the coming weeks and months.

Marijuana retailer Toni Fox is restricting how much customers can buy worried she'll sell out instantly.

"I don't want to sell ounces to Colorado residents when I know that people are coming from all over the country to purchase cannabis," said Fox.

Opponents worry legal sales will turn Colorado into a hub for drug trafficking.

Fox says she matched her prices to the out-of-state black market to deter that.

"The retail side of it, seven grams, that's not worth redistributing. The people redistributing are looking for pounds of marijuana to ship out. So they're not going to stand in my line 25 times to get a quarter pound of cannabis," said Fox.

The first sales of marijuana will start at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.