But things have changed since 2014. In fact, the industry pulled down $10.4 billion nationwide in 2018, and competition from within the state has become more cut throat.

That competition has driven down the price of marijuana, which means many smaller mom and pop dispensaries in Colorado struggle. The industry is ripe for consolidation, but without large-scale public investor money, Heizer pointed out there’s “less capital to acquire the people who want to go out of business, and instead they’ll just go out of business.” In some cases, that means a loss of life savings for the owners as well as lost jobs and tax revenue for the state.

As Heizer sees it, the opening of Colorado cannabis to the public market would allow nearly unlimited capital.

Shadow Activity?

There are other benefits. Today, not much is known about the state’s marijuana businesses because they’re all private. If they become public, they’d have to disclose details like financial data, risk factors and executive compensation.

“There’s a lot of, shall we say, potential for shadow activity in the private arena that is not available in the public arena,” Heizer said.

It makes sense in theory, but the story is more complex in practice — there has been shadow activity in the public trading of marijuana companies in other states.

Last fall, Texas-based Greenview Investment Partners L.P., was charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executives allegedly lied about their credentials as longtime cannabis investors, and bilked investors out of $3.3 million.

Ann Marie Awad/CPR News Marijuana grow facilities, such as this one owned by LivWell Enlightened Health, are common employers around Denver, Colo.

Alongside the charges, the SEC warned about marijuana-related investments, noting eight different marijuana related enforcement actions. “Investors must remain vigilant and not let the fear of missing out dupe them into making bad investment decisions,” said Shamoil T. Shipchandler, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.

It’s stories like these that give Chris Woods, the owner of Boulder-based dispensary chain Terrapin Care Station, the chills. He opposes the idea of public trading and considers the state’s cautious approach to ownership a good thing. Public trading is standard in every other business, but Woods is quick to point out that marijuana isn’t just any business.

“Yeah, the difference is these businesses aren’t legal on the federal level,” Woods said of the state’s grow houses, dispensaries and edibles manufacturers. “Because, what we are fearful of is that this will be a backdoor to allowing for black market activity.”

Colorado’s U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn shares that concern. He told CPR News that public trading in marijuana “raises real questions” about whether bad actors can invest in the industry. Dunn said it’s hard to answer those questions though because the bill is in a state of flux.

While it’s a measured statement, it’s that kind of federal scrutiny that worries Woods more than falling behind other states, like California.

“I don’t think we will be left behind, I think we’ll again be seen as leaders for doing things in a responsible manner,” he said.

The Bill’s Odds Are Good

Woods may be fighting a lonely battle.

Most people contacted by CPR in and outside the industry think public trading is a good idea. Gov. Jared Polis supports it. A similar bill last session passed easily through a bipartisan legislature, before former Gov. John Hickenlooper vetoed it over fears of tracking ownership.

AP In this Oct. 10, 2016 photo, the morning sun rises behind a row of maturing pot plants at Los Suenos Farms, America's largest legal open air marijuana farm, in Avondale, southern Colo.

Securities attorney Tom Tenenbaum said marijuana scams highlighted by the SEC don’t involve its federally illegal status. Rather, it’s the media attention and the lure of the green rush.

“Whatever’s the hot new thing, people intent on committing securities fraud are going to latch onto it,” said Tenenbaum, who noted the same problems crept up around the bitcoin craze.

Denver cannabis attorney Sean McAllister said SEC regulation would actually mean more accountability.

“The SEC is not going to allow Pablo Escobar to own a public company,” he quipped.

McAllister has worked with marijuana companies since the first days of legalization. For him, these capital-intensive operations desperately need an infusion of cash.

“The general public thinks that every cannabis operator is filthy rich,” he said. Instead, “a lot of these folks are mom and pop operations” who face the same struggles as any other business. McAllister said public trading and freeing up capital could maybe save some of them from closing down.