TRENTON -- Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald are among the nine lawmakers who are traveling to Colorado this weekend to witness the impact that legal marijuana has had on the Rocky Mountain state.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) is leading a delegation to meet with legislators, members of Gov. John Hickenlooper's administration, health officials, farm and dispensary owners, and the people who drafted the constitutional amendment voters passed in 2013. The trip to Denver begins Saturday and ends Wednesday,

"We want to learn from their experiences and improve upon it as much as we can," said Scutari, who is the prime sponsor of a marijuana legalization bill that he plans to amend after his trip. He expects a vote in 2017.

Scutari, who traveled to Colorado alone earlier this year to learn more about the marijuana industry, has made no secret about his interest in the revenue legalization could generate. Marijuana sales in Colorado topped $1 billion in 2015. The state collected $135 million in taxes and fees, with $35 million earmarked for school construction projects.

Aside from Sweeney (D-Gloucester), Greenwald (D-Camden) and Scutari, the other lawmakers jetting to Colorado are Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset), Assemblywomen Maria Rodriguez-Gregg (R-Burlington) and Pam Lampitt (D-Camden), and Assemblymen Jamel Holley (D-Union), Jim Kennedy (D-Union), and Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth).

Princeton Public Affairs Lobbyist Kevin Hagen is accompanying the delegation representing his client, the N.J. Liquor Store Association. Scutari said the industry is interested in selling pot alongside its alcoholic beverages. He said he is keeping an open mind on the matter.

Cannabis dispensed through the state's medicinal marijuana program is sold at licensed dispensaries.

Scutari said he was enthused by the bipartisan interest of his colleagues. He said he hoped the trip will remove "fear and the joke" surrounding legal marijuana.

"This is not a joke...This is big money and it's great savings to the state," Scutari said.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.