>>64428058
I won't say you're wrong to think it's a big government ploy to placate society, but I'll offer a counter-proposal.
Weed, as you note, is a big business. Even before it was legal, it was a big business. But unlike drugs like heroin or cocaine, it had that loyal following who worked very hard to insist it had no risks. So eventually Colorado gets talked into eliminating the criminal hurdles to using, selling, or growing it. But they still regulate it, because it gets sold to the state legislature as a great new revenue stream. These regulations prove quite burdensome, as regulations tend to do.
But you know what never went away? The black market. Except now there's no criminal repercussion for growing, using or selling, beyond potentially minor penalties for doing it against regulations. In short, I think it's organized crime that's been funding this, and I think they've been raking in cash everywhere it succeeds.