Colorado, the first state to legalize recreational sale of marijuana, continues to provide lawmakers around the country with examples of what they should and should not do as they prepare to regulate medical and adult-use cannabis industry.

The latest involves allowing people to grow a large amount of marijuana in their homes, which Rocky Mountain State lawmakers have learned leads to a host of issues. Chief among them is the ability for organized crime to legally grow large amounts of marijuana, then divert it to the black market.

A Colorado plan to crack down on homegrown pot is rapidly heading to the governor’s desk after lawmakers changed the bill to give pot patients more leeway.

A Senate committee vote 5-0 to set a statewide limit of 12 plants per residential property. That’s down from 99 plants under current law.

The bill was changed to give medical marijuana patients and their caregivers up to 24 plants, if they register with the state and with local authorities. Currently, registration is required only if patients have more than 99 plants.

For three years, recreational pot has been legal in Colorado, but using it in public is still against the law. That will change this summer when pot clubs are slated to open.

A blinking "open" sign hangs on the outside of an old building in a dark industrial zone just outside the Denver city limits. When the front door opens, smoke billows out.

Inside is one of the state's few pot clubs, called iBake. Recently, members celebrated the anniversary of its opening.

Glassy-eyed patrons bounce off each other in the small space.

People can smoke pot in here because the club is private; you have to be a member. And it's outside city limits, away from city police.

It's not the easiest way to make money, but Steve Nelson Jr. started iBake to fill a need.

Longmont's City Council will hold a Tuesday night public hearing on an ordinance that would regulate and limit the growing of marijuana inside homes for residents' medical or recreational use.

Also on Tuesday, the council is to decide whether to provide Longmont water and sewer service to a commercial indoor marijuana growing facility that's been proposed for a building on a property northeast of the St. Vrain River and 119th Street, which is outside the city's boundaries.

Rep. Mike Coffman is suggesting he might use the power of the purse to protect Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.

During a telephone town hall Wednesday evening the Republican congressman was asked about Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ threat to crack down on states like Colorado that have legalized recreational marijuana.

Coffman noted that he opposed the ballot measures that legalized both medical and recreational marijuana in the state. But he added that since voters approved them they are now Colorado law. He said the federal government should not interfere and he hopes Sessions doesn’t follow through on his warning.

Law enforcement agencies busted a large-scale illegal marijuana grow and distribution operation across Colorado Thursday morning. Here are five things you need to know about the raids:

Where did the raids occur?

The Drug Enforcement Agency, which assisted local law enforcement agencies in the raids, says there were 20 locations in Denver, Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and El Paso counties.

Denver7 crews watched as crews pulled plants out of a warehouse at 37th and Salem in Denver late Thursday morning after prior raids in the 7300 block of Valdi Court in Aurora and at a house in Castle Rock.

The organizers of a marijuana festival at Cheesman Park next month have decided to cancel the event.

Denver 420 Fest was scheduled to take place over two days beginning on April 20, the unofficial “holiday” for marijuana enthusiasts, and was to feature musical performances and a number of vendors.

Neighbors had expressed concerns about noise, traffic and possible drug use, though the event’s website states that no public consumption of marijuana would be allowed.

Thursday evening, organizers posted a message on the event’s website saying the event was canceled in light of “ridiculous” requirements from the city.

On Monday, March 13, the Colorado House passed a proposal to limit residential pot grows in an effort to clamp down on criminal activity and force more patients into the regulated marketplace. House Bill 1220, “Prevent Marijuana Diversion to Illegal Market,” is the culmination of a years-long debate over the state’s relatively lenient home-grow laws. Currently, those laws limit personal grows to 99 plants. Colorado is the only one of 28 medical marijuana states to allow so many plants, which some claim has led to a proliferation of neighborhood grow operations that divert product out-of-state.