The lessons Colorado and Michigan learned from marijuana legalization

The Star Tribune talked to dozens of people in Colorado and Michigan about their recreational marijuana markets and asked what Minnesota should emulate — and avoid.

Here are thoughts shared by authorities and industry pros:

Sgt. Jim Janes, Michigan State Police drug recognition expert program leader: "We've done a really good job as a nation telling people you can't drive when you're drunk. I don't think that message has gotten out there with drugs, marijuana or otherwise."

Colorado State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard: "Based on what I'm hearing on the radio, when I look at our own data, when you talk to troopers that are working, there's not a question in my mind that there are more impaired drivers ... We invested more time and training and resources into identifying drug-impaired drivers."

Colorado cannabis industry lawyer Brian Vicente, who helped write the state's legalization ballot initiative: "[People] might not know that a brownie with 30 milligrams takes an hour to set in and then it's very powerful ... I think there's a public education piece that people need to take seriously."

University of Colorado Boulder Prof. Angela Bryan, who studies marijuana's health impacts: "Kids getting ahold of the gummy products, like the candy-coated ones and the ones that look like gummy bears, has been a problem."

Boulder, Colo., Mayor Aaron Brockett: "An area of concern has been high-potency marijuana ... That is something that we're really keeping an eye on, because the high-potency THC products can have an outsized impact on those young minds that are still developing."

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan: "Our goal from the day voters approved the sale of adult-use marijuana was to make sure we had a city ordinance and a process in place that provides fair and equitable access to these licenses."

Kim James, director of the Detroit Office of Marijuana Ventures and Entrepreneurship: "During the prohibition era, Detroiters were 30 times more likely to be convicted of a marijuana crime than elsewhere in Michigan, and our program addresses that inequity by reserving half of the retail licenses for those who come from communities like Detroit."

Brockett, the Boulder mayor: "I think it's something important to tackle right at the beginning to make sure that those communities of color and marginalized communities get the opportunity to take advantage of the economic opportunities that will be offered by legal marijuana."

Greg Michaud, CEO of Viridis Laboratories and former forensics lab director for Michigan State Police: "There are multiple ways to do things. As long as they've been validated properly and accredited, that should give the customer some assurance."

Michele Glinn, chief science officer at Viridis: "You need people who have a scientific background, as well as a legal and regulatory background."

David Harns, public relations manager for the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency: "Leadership at the CRA has always been committed to transparency and to meeting with stakeholders any time, anywhere ... making sure we have an open door policy. That's why Michigan has been successful in being able to roll out this process out over the last few years."

Molly Duplechian, executive director of Denver's Excise and Licenses office: "We used the saying, 'We were building the airplane while we were flying it.'" She added that regulators in states that recently legalized marijuana should expect a lot of trial and error.

Patrick Shepard, manager at Arbors Wellness dispensary in Ann Arbor, Mich.: "When helping customers, it's not, 'What do you want,' but 'What do you like?'"

Samantha Baker, manager at Hot Box Social lounge outside Detroit: "It has a lot in common with other businesses — you need accountants, help with IT. But cannabis really is its own realm."

Adam Goers, senior vice president of corporate affairs for Columbia Care, a multistate marijuana company that owns dispensaries in Colorado: "It's really, really, really hard to make money in this ... You're going to have way more heartbreak stories than you're going to create rags-to-riches stories."

Baker: $150 is a "sweet spot" for an average ounce of weed — too much more will encourage the black market, too much lower is unsustainable for businesses.

Packard: "There was story after story after story about that one house down the cul-de-sac that was rented out or bought, and no one's ever there, but their electric bill is through the roof because they've converted their basement into an elaborate grow house."

Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez: "I think the black market sales are decreasing because, in part, it's spreading out" to other states that have legalized marijuana.

Bob Stevenson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police: "The amount of illegal weed that is out there is putting the legitimate providers of marijuana out of business," and much of it is coming from the relatively unregulated patient/caregiver medical marijuana system. "Every state that has legalized has seen a proliferation of the black market, and we've seen that in Michigan."

Estes Park, Colo., Town Administrator Travis Machalek: "The ability to determine our own fate has been valuable." Colorado's marijuana law allowed cities to opt out of allowing commercial sales in their limits. Estes Park doesn't allow marijuana sales.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers: "I just think cities ought to have the right to say, 'OK, this is the way our state's moving but it's not the way we want to go.'" Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city, also doesn't allow recreational marijuana sales.

Vicente: He said he thinks it's better to not let cities opt out of allowing marijuana sales. "It's going to make sure that people have access in every community and that that community is then getting tax revenue."

Ryan Cook, marketing manager for Arbor Holdings in Michigan: "We've seen communities continue to move forward with opt-ins. Washtenaw County received over $1 million from state revenue-sharing this year. When other communities start seeing this, they start wanting in."