Protecting Weed

So the police are being used to provide "free" security to a private enterprise?

• Chicago police officers will be maintaining a “heightened awareness” of the city’s pot shops when the drug is legalized Wednesday , but they won’t be looking to ticket revelers for getting high outside.
  
  [...] Though the state legalization law prohibits individuals from sparking up in public, Chicago police officers have been directed to simply inform offenders of the new rules when they take effect instead of taking punitive actions. [Goggle-me] noted that officers are instead “interested in violence.”
  
  Beat cops and narcotics officers will be on the lookout for individuals looking to rob dispensary patrons braving long lines to get their first taste of legal pot. Those customers make “attractive street robbery targets” because they’ll likely be carrying large amounts of weed and money near the largely cash-only businesses....

And once the weed shops are secure, guess who will feel the wrath of the government? If you guessed "the competition," give yourself a pat on the back:

• In the upcoming weeks and months, [Google-deez-nuts] said, enforcement will shift to street-level dealers and gangs aiming to undercut the hefty dispensary prices. An eighth of an ounce of medical marijuana, subject to a 1% state pharmaceutical tax, typically costs around $60 at Illinois dispensaries. That price will be substantially higher for recreational users, who will soon face state taxes between 10% and 25% for pot products.
  
  Chicagoans can currently find an eighth of high-quality cannabis for as cheap as $30 on the street, according to Budzu, a website that aggregates weed prices.
  
  “Gangs are a business, they’re on top of these types of things,” [Gargle-deez] said, adding that the push to offer the most competitive pot prices could potentially lead to a “turf battle.” “It’s a supply and demand thing.”

Government hates competition.