RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
And in this new year, Colorado is turning over a new leaf. State license retailers spent their New Year's Eve putting plant buds on shelves, stuffing baggies and rolling joints in preparation for what's being called Green Wednesday. Colorado is the first in the nation to regulate and control a recreational marijuana industry.
According to the State Marijuana Enforcement Division, more than 300 businesses have put in for licenses to legally sell pot. About 15 of those stores are in Denver. Dozens more pot shops are expected to open state-wide in the coming months. You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.