The Pot Legalization Minefield

In less than a month, on New Year's Day, marijuana will be legalized in Colorado and Washington State.

Going legit. Aboveboard. Fair game for the taxman and the free market.

And there's the rub. Those two states legalized marijuana for personal use through ballot initiatives, but legalizing the drug won't be as easy as it seems. Particularly when it remains illegal everywhere else.

The legalization process is a minefield of unknowns: How big will the pot market be? How old should you have to be to buy it? What about the spill-over to states where it is illegal? Should illegal dealers still be targeted? How many more people will smoke pot because it's legal?

Mark Kleiman, professor of public policy in the UCLA School of Public Affairs. He's also the author of several books including Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control. You can read the recent New Yorker article on his work here.

Bill Downing, member of Bay State Repeal.