(Image source from: Pot black market still thriving in Colorado})

A 25-year-old young man is gunned down while he was trying to sell marijuana illegally. Two Texas man set up a warehouse of weed. Three men buying pot are robbed at gun point in a grocery store parking lot.

None expected the state's first-in-the-nation recreational sales would completely wipe out the black market overnight. However, the recent cases of violence has raised concerns among the city police, prosecutors and pot advocates who fear that a black market for marijuana is alive and thriving in Colorado.

"It has done nothing more than enhance the opportunity for the black market," said Lt. Mark Comte of the Colorado Springs police vice and narcotics unit. "If you can get it tax-free on the corner, you're going to get it on the corner."

There aren't any concrete records to show the rise in pot-related crimes beyond anecdotal reports as no  federal or state agencies are keeping a track of the numbers of killings, robberies and other crimes linked directly to marijuana.

Pot advocates believe that once the transition period is over, the pot-related crimes will decline as more and more stores open and prices of legal marijuana wane.

"It's just a transition period," activist Brian Vicente said. "Marijuana was illegal for the last 80 years in our state, and there are some remnants of that still around. Certainly, much like alcohol, over time these underground dealers will fade away."

Marijuana sales are due for this year June in Washington, where authorities will be watching for similar incidents.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury