They don't view it as a highly regulated commodity packaged in one of the most high-tech surveillance systems on the market. But that's exactly what it is — at least, in four states where it is legal, primarily in Colorado.

There, each recreational and medicinal strain of marijuana bears a barcode and a Radio Frequency ID (RFID). The facilities that house and sell the herb brandish state of the art 24/7 security that tracks the movements of every employee. This "cannabis surveillance state" is in place ostensibly to ensure that states can control the drug from being on the black market; surveillance data allows regulators to know there is a "closed loop" of marijuana and that it is not crossing state lines.