Drug traffickers seek safe haven amid legal marijuana

Authorities say illegal drug traffickers are seeking refuge in Colorado’s legal marijuana marketplace, growing their crops among the state’s pot warehouses and farms and shipping large amounts out of state to places where it is still illegal.

In one case, the owner of a skydiving business crammed hundreds of pounds of Colorado pot into his planes and flew it to Minnesota, where associates are accused of selling it. In another, traffickers were accused of moving to Colorado to grow pot to ship to Florida, where it can fetch more than double the price in a legal pot shop.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh says prosecutors are going after more sophisticated illegal operations. But some in the industry say police have exaggerated the problem and unfairly scrutinize people who grow pot legally.