Colorado has granted $2.35 million to study the effects of legalizing marijuana in the state four years ago. With similar legislation passing this year in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada–and likely more in the future–Colorado is being treated as a testing ground for how legal pot works in practice. These new studies reflect the demand for data like this.

Not that there hasn’t been data already. There’s no dispute that it’s big business–Colorado marijuana is a billion-dollar industry–but other numbers have been created more contention. Opponents of legalization in California used increases in drugged driving and poison center calls to argue against the measure, while polls show continued support in Colorado for the law. And while most citizens approve, law enforcement is less enthusiastic, struggling to execute a tangle of regulations.

There’s more research to be done, basically, and Colorado is using its own experiences to provide that. It’s still unclear what the best policy on pot would be, but Colorado is likelier to know than most.

(Photo by Gerry Dincher)

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About Stewart Finnegan

In a perfect world, I'd be a professor who teaches poetry using episodes of mediocre sci-fi procedurals, but for now, I'm just a tutor who watches a lot of TV. I got my BA from Kalamazoo College in English with a focus on creative writing, and someday soon I'd like to go back to academia. Most of my formal teaching training was as a creative writing TA, but I've used those skills professionally more to tutor math and write data entry training materials. And though I'd like to focus my work on what I'm really passionate about (which is Netflix binges and outdated video games, mostly), it's the craft of teaching and writing that keeps me coming back. That's why I'm excited to be a part of High Faluter: I'm finding that academia doesn't just stay in academia. And if I can bring crappy midbrow entertainment into academia too, well, all the better. You can find me on Twitter: @StewartFinnegan

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