FROM SEED TO SMOKE: Here's The Real Story Of How Marijuana Gets In Your Joint

Marijuana is going to be legal in Colorado in a mere six months. 

As far as this goes economically — seeing an industry transition from a black market to a medical market to a legal market — anything on this scale is unprecedented since the days of Prohibition. 

I flew out to Colorado to see what it's like on the ground floor of an industry that's about to explode. 

Here, we look at the entire production cycle of marijuana in Colorado. We looked at Denver Relief's growery; I got an inside look at Dixie Elixirs, which makes marijuana-infused soft drinks and snacks; and I toured CannLabs, the cannabis testing facility that ensures that all marijuana products are up to snuff.

Then we got a look at the Denver Relief dispensary in Downtown Denver, where marijuana is sold legally. Lastly, we got a look into the operations at Heady Glass to learn how water pipes and bowls are made from scratch. 

Here's the story of marijuana, from seed to smoke. 

The Denver Relief growery is located in what might be the most non-descript warehouse in the Mountain time zone.

On the inside, though, all the marijuana for one of the most popular dispensaries in Denver is grown from scratch.

Marijuana here starts as a stem, not a seed. Seeds can be fickle and difficult to ensure quality. Healthy branches are cut from "mother" plants — the tall ones on the sides — and potted. They will grow into exact genetic clones of that plant. Quality is assured.