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DENVER — Colorado's marijuana industry opened for business 8 a.m. Wednesday.
People who are 21 or older in Colorado can now buy pot like they buy alcohol. Each customer is limited to one ounce, which could cost upwards of $200. Travelers from out of state can buy up to a quarter ounce. Legally purchased pot can't be smoked in public and it isn't allowed to cross Colorado state lines.
The first customer at one shop in Denver is an Iraq war veteran.
"Now I get to use recreational cannabis to help alleviate my PTSD, and it's a stepping stone for other states to help other veterans as well," Sean Azzariti said.
Moments later, hundreds who waited in line overnight filed in to make their first legal pot purchases.
"It is a whole new world not having to be underground about it and sneaky about it," said customer Sandy Rubin.
What happens in Colorado will be watched closely around the world, including activists hoping to prove legalization is better than the expensive American-led war on marijuana.
"Colorado is actually opting a far more sensible approach in which we are going to regulate and tax the cultivation and sale of marijuana for adults," said Mason Tvert, Marijuana Policy Project.
Marijuana taxes will top 25 percent in most transactions.
But critics warn increased access will lead to increases in drug abuse and crime.
I think it's going to be a huge disaster. I think it's something that there will be so much damage done to the children out there that it's going to be difficult to undo it," said Calvina Fay, Drug Free America Foundation.
For now, the federal government has promised not to interfere in Colorado, even though using, possessing, growing and selling marijuana remains a federal crime.
Statewide, about 30 pot shops are expected to open, though it's unclear exactly how many opened today. Voters in Colorado and in Washington State approved recreational marijuana in 2012.