The mainbar article and the sidebar articles explore the commercial, financial, law-enforcement, health and political effects of the introduction of legal medical and recreational marijuana in Colorado. We told the story in the context of New York state’s debate over the legalization of medical marijuana. We found that fears about the effects on crime and public health were overblown, but predictions of an economic boom also were overstated. Critics say the law was put in place with too little oversight, and medical marijuana (which is cheaper and easily abused) remains popular even with legal recreational marijuana. However, a pot industry is growing in Colorado. In the sidebar stories, we reported: New York’s medical marijuana law is very restrictive; research on the medical effects of marijuana remains scarce; and native Buffalonians who live in Colorado are supportive of legalizing marijuana even if they don’t use it themselves.
