FILE - In this Friday, March 22, 2019, file photo, a marijuana plant is visible at Compassionate Care Foundation's medical marijuana dispensary in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. A setback for marijuana advocates in New Jersey may show that the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use doesn't run just along blue state-red state lines. Democrat-led New Jersey could still become the 11th state to legalize the drug, though a state Senate vote was put off Monday because it didn’t have enough support. The delay is a reminder that pot legalization politics aren't just partisan. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Pioneering legal pot states — like Colorado — aim to ease rules on industry

SEATTLE — When Washington and Colorado launched their pioneering marijuana industries in the face of U.S. government prohibition, they imposed strict rules in hopes of keeping the U.S. Justice Department at bay.

Businesses would need to track plants and products with bar codes. Regulators would have to approve money invested to ensure it was not tied to criminals. Owners of pot operations would have to live in-state and pass background checks.

Five years later, federal authorities have stayed away, but the industry says it has been stifled by over-regulation. Lawmakers in both states have heard the complaints and are moving to ease the rules.

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