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Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is being criticized by some for his veto of a pot bill that some think could boost the black market for pot.
As The Denver Post reports, Hickenlooper, a term-limited Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have opened up the cannabis industry to investment by public companies. Kristi Kelly, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said help proliferate the black market for pot.
In related news, sheriffs and lawmakers are starting to make a dent in Colorado’s black market for pot.
As Colorado Public Radio reports, some parts of the state, groups tied to foreign drug cartels grow marijuana in rented homes there with the intent of distributing it in other states.
But lawmakers recently provided funding to help local law enforcement agencies, particularly in rural areas, to crack down on Colorado’s black market. And as of Jan. 1, it became illegal to grow nearly a hundred plants at, meaning it’s harder for people to grow mass quantities.