Medical marijuana brings "green rush" to Colo.

Colorado's thriving medical marijuana business isn't just named for the color of today's green, potent pot. It's the color of the money being made in the medical marijuana industry. Steve Kroft goes to the Rocky Mountain state to report on a business that's legal there and 16 other states, but in the eyes of the federal government is still as illegal as dealers selling heroin or LSD. "Rocky Mountain High" will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. ET and 7:00 p.m. PT.

Kroft goes to Denver to visit a few of the city's 204 medical marijuana dispensaries -- shops so numerous, they outnumber Starbucks and McDonald's combined by nearly threefold. The state of Colorado, with five million people, boasts a total of 537 medical pot dispensaries and more than 100,000 authorized medical marijuana patients.

Highly regulated shops sell medicine patients can smoke with names like Jack Frost and Biodiesel; edible versions of cannabis are also available, from the newfangled, like ice-cream, sparkling sodas and chocolate, to old standbys like cookies and brownies. A webcast to go live on Sunday evening on 60MinutesOvertime.com will feature a whole segment on the various kinds of marijuana-infused edible products Kroft found.

The rush, like those for silver or gold so long ago, is attracting investors, or as some call them, "ganjapreneurs." Kristi Kelly came to Colorado to make money on marijuana. "There's not a lot of opportunities in any one lifetime where you can be part of something from such an early stage," she tells Kroft.

The federal government has done little in the state to interfere in the booming trade. And even if it chose to, the sheer number of dispensaries would present a daunting challenge. The Justice Department, however, has warned that financial institutions could be prosecuted for handling money from such businesses. This is a situation ganjapreneurs cannot tolerate much longer as their businesses grow larger.

This past week, a federal appeals court in Washington held a hearing on whether to change marijuana's status under the Controlled Substances Act. Medical marijuana advocates are suing to remove cannabis from the Schedule One list and reclassify it as a drug that could be prescribed by physicians.

Meanwhile, Colorado could become the first state to legalize pot. A referendum is on next month's ballot that if passed, would legalize recreational use of marijuana with regulations.

[Hemporer]

If you are seeking an opportunity to get into this industry be warned, you cannot unless you already have two years residency in Colorado. BUT, there is an exciting way for you to make some money by lending to the industry. As they said in the report there are no banks who will lend to dispensaries, no matter how much profit they generate. That's where you come in... if you can lend $5,000 to $250,000 for a short time and you want to earn an interest rate from 10% to 30% then please contact me today at: mmjviceroy at g mail.com

Then you can tell all your friends you are "in" the medical marijuana industry and more importantly you can help sick patients get access to the same high potency cannabis they purchase now for less money than they pay today.

[Cannabis-College]

if you ask the fed gov the will tell you that marijuana is worst then cocaine, heroin and meth...we're supposed to respect their opinions?? http://www.californiamarijuanacollege.com

[Magic_Mike]

Buy MJNA stock for .08 cents per share If you buy first thing Monday great investment for the future and your money is invested in the cause

[LegalizeFreedomNOW]

Anyone know where to watch a stream of cbs online? As with most awakened people i dont own a television set. :p

[Hemporer]

This system only appears to keep the top 8 comments... so here I go again, gonna need to write me a script I think....

We represent a number of cancer patients who need us to build a larger production facility. We are operating in complete and total compliance with state laws. If you can lend us money in exchange for a high interest rate loan (10% to 30%) please contact me at mmjviceroy at g mail.

[Hemporer]

by the way, Kevin was referring to the post BELOW his, not this one :)

[kevin_hunt]

"Donkey_Hotay" (posting above) is an illegal grower in Colorado that doesn't want Amendment 64 to pass because it cannot compete profitably in a free market.

10,000 Coloradans are arrested each year for marijuana. Amendment 64 will drastically reduce the number of arrests by reducing the black market activity.

Amendment 64 legalizes one ounce, six plants, and no more doctor's visits. Vote YES on Amendment 64.

[Donkey__Hotay]

Utter nonsense -- more fools have LOST $$$ jumping into Colorado's marijuana industry than have made any profit.

There were over 1000 dispensaries 24 months ago, then the "Regulation and Taxation" the profiteering clowns begged for took effect -- now there are less than 300 dispensaries still surviving under the myriad conflicting rules, ordinances, extreme fees and taxes the Government has bled from them.

Amendment 64 does NOT legalize marijuana -- not eve close.

A64 is a continuation of Criminal Prohibition -- with extra regulations and taxes added.

A64 is a Fraud and a Sham.

[bobishot123]

just curious what drug turns a person into a lier . you seem angry and confused i'm guessing meth or maybe spice or beer lol lol

[Grmstr]

Please tell us what would satisfy your requirements for any change in the laws. All I've seen is how you find fault in any proposed changes yet you don't have a realistic position of your own.

[Grmstr]

Please tell us what would satisfy your requirements for any change in the laws. All I've seen is how you find fault in any proposed changes yet you don't have a realistic position of your own.

[legalizemj]

I keep hearing about this "legalizing marijuana for recreational use" thing, but what it appears that they're really trying to do is legalize marijuana as a far safer alternative to alcohol.

According to the CDC, alcohol kills 80,000 people every year in the U.S. while marijuana kills none. And marijuana's addiction potential is only about that of coffee. Since marijuana is far safer and far less addictive than alcohol, we could GREATLY reduce the amount of harm and addiction in society by giving people the right to switch from the more harmful drug, alcohol, to the less harmful drug, marijuana. And that would be a good thing.

The only thing is though, people can't switch to marijuana if marijuana's illegal.

[Mindystanton]

I believe that the biggest impediment is Greed. Marijuana can replace a host of pharmaceutical medication. Some strains treat depression and anxiety. Can you imagine what Big Pharma would do to keep from losing billions of dollars in anti-depressants and benzodiazapines alone? I'm guessing that they would do just about anything to keep the propaganda and lies going to bastardize the plant itself as well as the users.

[LegalizeFreedomNOW]

Exactly! Somebody gets it. Its not that hard really to understand. Geeze guys. Ive seen first hand people who have gotten off destructive hardcore drugs including alcohol with the help of marijuana. And while being a marijuana addict isnt ideal either, at least these people can still function in society a hell of a lot better in gerneral, and wont die in their 40s like an alcoholic.