of cannibis. we did about $4.5 million last year. how about this year? about $9 million. and then next year, 18. medicine man opened as a medical marijuana dispensary on the outskirts of denver. location, location, location, and we screwed that up. and yet everybody s here. that bad location and some good timing came together in a happy accident. i would suggest blue dream. it s a really good 60/40 split hybrid. we re the closest dispensary, so people land and come here first and go up to the mountains and have a good time. let me bring in nbc news correspondent harry smith. so good to see you. and oh, by the way, you can t get warehouse space in the city and county of denver now. because it s so popular. so sold out with marijuana growers.
his vegetables. he wouldn t take us to his farm but showed where rain water is harvested using drip technology that doesn t waste a drop. his solution to the environmental crisis? you are saying regulate it. absolutely. give us as producers, give us access to a legitimate marketplace. give us regulations. give us the ability to stand on our own two feet and work just like every other industry. producers who are afraid of legalization should step their game up. reporter: everyone here agrees in the past decade, pot has become an economic juggernaut in the area of northern california known as the emerald triangle. marijuana growers are the newest economy in our, in these counties around here. they are coming out of the logging industry collapsing, basically. reporter: and it s booming. yeah. marijuana industry is booming. reporter: after decades of environmental damage by the loggers before them, these pictures show the scars left on the land by some marijuana
changed over the years, both sides have plenty of valid arguments and some were articulated last night on ac-360 later. i don t believe that pleasure needs to be banished from our society, or some kind of threat to our ability there are so many millions, millions of law-abiding adults in this country that use this drug like they would use alcohol in moderation. the key thing is moderation. i don t disagree with you. the problem is the statistics, andrew. and the statistics show that more kids are going to use when you say there s a permissive environment. that s a fact. so tobacco. you know, joe camel. it took us 60 years to reverse the tobacco industry s insistence that cigarettes were good for you. how long is it going to take with a million dollars a day where these marijuana growers are now getting all this investment banking money, jeffrey. they re going to be in the business of addicting kids.
happens and thc lasts in your system 30 days. what do you think this does for the unemployment rates. your answer is more criminal prosecutions of white people to even it out? i want to decriminalize it. but it s not the same as legalization. what is the big difference? you don t have a new industry. so tobacco, ojoe camel. it took 60 years to reverse the insistence that cigarettes are good for you. how long will it take where all the marijuana growers are getting the investment banking. they will be in the business of addicting kids. the point of ending prohibition is to keep it away from kids. you don t think they have access to this drug? they have access via criminals. we are trying to create a
you don t have a new industry. so tobacco, joe camel. it took 60 years to reverse the insistence that cigarettes are good for you. how long will it take where all the marijuana growers are getting the investment banking. they will be in the business of addicting kids. the point of ending prohibition is to keep it away from kids. you don t think they have access to this drug? they have access via criminals. we are trying to create a situation where it can be available freely and in a regulatory regime. the point of the colorado initiative is safer. keep our kids safer. they can control it. you will never stop them from getting ahold of this or alcohol. but you can t have a seiner