VICE: Politicians have obviously long been way behind the public when it comes to support for marijuana. Is that trend shifting at all?

Erik Altieri: It is beginning to shift. Politicians are traditionally a lagging indicator of where public opinion is; they’re very cautious by nature and often have to be pulled along kicking and screaming to where the will of the populace is. But you do see evolution happen, particularly when state’s voters speak out on an issue or they hear enough from their constituents in support of it. I think a good example of that is Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Beginning and through the campaign process when Colorado legalized marijuana, he was very skeptical and negative on the issue. He didn’t, in particular, do a very good job in defending Colorado’s legalization laws in the media when it was being implemented. But several years later, after seeing that not only was it working but public support for legalization among Colorado voters had increased, he’s done a very good job, particularly in the past year, of being a vocal defender and an articulate spokesman for why regulation is far better than prohibition.