Wash. and Colo. 'potrepreneurs' see opportunity

LACEY, Wash. (AP) — Kim Ridgway and her wife, Kimberly Bliss, can well envision the shop they plan to open — where they'll put the accessories, the baked goods and the shelves stacked with their valuable product: jars of high-quality marijuana.

Like many so-called "potrepreneurs" throughout Washington and Colorado, they're scrambling to get ready for the new world of regulated, taxed marijuana sales to adults older than 21 — even though the states haven't even figured out how they are going to grant licenses.

Farmers and orchardists are studying how to grow marijuana. Some medical pot dispensaries are preparing to switch to recreational sales. Labs that test the plant's potency are trying to figure out how to meet standards the states might develop.

It's a lot of work for something that might never happen.

"We don't want to devote all our time and finances to building a business, only to have the feds rip it out from under us," Bliss said. "There's a huge financial risk, and a huge personal risk. We could end up in federal prison."

While marijuana remains illegal under federal law, both states legalized the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana last November and are setting up rules to govern state-licensed growers, processors and retailers.