Legal Pot Demand High in Colorado
BANFIELD: Some people wait a lifetime and others have waited for hours in the cold just for a chance to buy some weed just to smoke for fun. Now, under a new law in Colorado, they can legally do it any time they want. How did things go on this history making first day go of buying weed legally? Here's Casey Wian.</s>CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This married couple rang in the New Year by waiting outside the Evergreen Apothecary at 2:00 in the morning, six hours before recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado. (on camera): Why was it important for you guys to be here so early and be first in line?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we're pioneers.</s>WIAN (voice-over): Some 800 people took a number at this store on day one alone, some waiting in the snow, to select their preferred strain of pot.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to be a cross of O.G. Cush, Mandola (ph) Cush and Sweet Tooth.</s>WIAN: And the first legal deal was done.</s>WIAN: It's been a long time coming. Since the sale of alcohol resumed after the end of Prohibition 80 years ago, marijuana has been on the target of authorities. "Reefer Madness," a propaganda film from the 1930s portrays the descent of high school pot smokers into a life of crime and insanity. But attitudes and laws have since changed. Colorado first allowed medical marijuana in 2000. It took 12 years before voters here approved Amendment 64, legalizing recreation pot use and sales over the opposition of the state's government.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, this is the forefront. To be a part of history and to -- Prohibition has ended.</s>WIAN: Colorado residents age 21 and over can purchase up to one ounce of marijuana. Out-of-staters can buy a quarter ounce.</s>MIKE OWENS, CUSTOMER: I'm excited. I've been dreaming about this since I started smoking.</s>WIAN: There are other rules. No taking marijuana out of state, no consumption in public. The main concern for law enforcement, no driving stoned.</s>JACK FINLAW, CHIEF COUNSEL, COLORADO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE: If someone is drinking and driving, they're driving too fast or aggressively. If you're under the influence of marijuana, you're likely to be slow. But, frankly, we've had medical marijuana in Colorado for about 13 years. So, we're used to dealing with people who are driving and consuming marijuana.</s>WIAN: For new recreational retailers, the biggest concern is demand exceeding supply and the possibility of shortages and higher prices.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A candy like taste to it.</s>WIAN: Here, it's already going for $50 per eighth of an ounce, a nice problem to have.</s>TIM CULLEN, CO-OWNER, EVERGREEN APOTHECARY: This has far exceeded my stocks. What an exciting day. It's great to see all these smiling faces.</s>WIAN: Wonder why they're smiling.</s>WIAN: Now at the Evergreen Apothecary retail store, 400 of the 800 plus people who got numbers yesterday were actually able to buy marijuana, because they ran out of time. They had to close by 7:00, according to city regulations. There's another line, those 400 and some others, will be out there for their turn. This marijuana you see around me, Ashleigh, is destined for Evergreen. It will be ready in 60 days. Despite concern that is some businesses have of a shortage, this one says they have plenty of supply. Others aren't so sure -- Ashleigh?</s>BANFIELD: So, Casey, whenever I see people working around the tables and processing that fresh weed, they're wearing masks and gloves. Does it smell pretty strong in there?</s>WIAN: Actually, in this room, it doesn't smell all that strong, or perhaps I've become immune to it.</s>BANFIELD: You are either really, really smart or just an excellent reporter, knowing all that about buds and weeds and all the rest.</s>WIAN: Thank you. Same to you.</s>BANFIELD: Thanks. I want to bring in our legal analysts on this one, because there's still a lot of questions. Mark O'Mara and Paul Callan are joining me on this one. When this New Year began yesterday, and all those people were lining up, and now you can smoke and get high legally, it still begs the question, you've got to go to work. And there are still drug-testing policies that are out there and there are still employers that don't like weed and don't like drugs. So, Mark O'Mara, where does this intersect? What are employers allowed to do in places like Colorado?</s>MARK O'MARA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & CNN LEGAL ANALYST: An employer like in Colorado or any other state can ensure they have a safe environment and workers will be able to work. Whether it's alcohol, pot or any other drug, I think they should be allowed for drug testing to make sure that their employees are doing what they're supposed to be doing properly. Colorado doesn't change that. It just says that when you're not working and you're not driving your car, if you're over 18, you can smoke pot.</s>BANFIELD: So we should look at it as the same as booze? I can't come to work drunk. They can fire me. Can they test my blood, though?</s>PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's an interesting question. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, one of the big concerns was, if you were an alcoholic, who was not drinking, could you be barred from employment? Employers are allowed to test you for alcohol use if they suspect you're currently using. And the same thing would apply with drugs. I don't think we're really going into any kind of a brave new world here. This is a well-tested thing about using drugs or alcohol on the workplace and at the workplace. Employers can prohibit it. It's perfectly legal. They'll do the same thing in Colorado.</s>BANFIELD: OK. I get you about maybe we're not in unchartered waters here. Although I feel like we really are. Because if you drug test someone, Mark, and THC shows up in his or her blood and it was from a joint three days ago, they are not high. They are not creating an unsafe work environment. Then what do you do?</s>O'MARA: That's going to be the problem. You could test for pot and it could be in the system for as long as 30 days because it's fat soluble. That's going to be the real problem. If my client smokes pot a week ago and shows up for work and is tested, it will be positive, even though they're not under the influence of that drug. That could be a concern because you could then sue those drug devices for improper means.</s>BANFIELD: I sort brought up this analogy of why is it any different from booze? It's legal to drink, but not good to be drunk at work. But so there's no federal law that says drinking booze is illegal. How does that intersect now?</s>CALLAN: It does intersect. I think that's why we have seen decisions under the ADA saying, hey, you can test for alcohol but there must be reasonable suspicion of use. You're on to something that's very important about marijuana that's different from alcohol. Alcohol, there's a window. You stop drinking and you're sober in four or five hours. You may have a bad hangover, but the alcohol pretty much is out of your system. With marijuana, it goes on for a lengthy period of time. Different world in that respect.</s>BANFIELD: Mark O'Mara, Paul Callan, thank you and happy New Year.</s>CALLAN: Happy New Year.</s>O'MARA: Happy New Year.</s>BANFIELD: And good luck getting back to Florida.</s>O'MARA: Looking forward to it.</s>BANFIELD: You did book a hotel, right?</s>O'MARA: Yes, I did.</s>BANFIELD: That's a good thing.