they are in a position where they have real problems. europe we want to see do well, but why are manufacturers coming from europe as well as china and the far east? gas is seven times cheaper here than it is there. we are going to be the epicenter of energy in north america throughout the first half of the 20th century. that's not a boast. it's a pure, natural fact. we have everything going for us. everything. we have the best education. our workers are three times as productive. that's not the kids they are bad. we are better. it's time we remind ourselves just how powerful we are politically, economically, and

militarily. use that power to generate the kind of education system, the kind of job opportunities, and the kind of opportunities that grow the rest of the world. there's not a leader in the world who wouldn't trade positions with the united states. listen to maury povich say, woe is me. come on. i have a simple closing comment. get up. get up and get out and win in 2014. talk about what we value. get up. [applause] [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014]

[applause] [applause] tom harkin is the author of the senate will to raise minimum wage. he is our guest on newsmakers.

here's a preview of what he had to say. >> what can we do now to get more support within our party and get this bill to the floor? otherwise, it seems like there is a bit of a delay bringing it to the floor. maybe it is not happening. why the't understand republicans are in lockstep against increasing the minimum wage. studies show it is a protocol for -- pro-growth policy. people will have more money to spend. we know low-wage workers spend every dollar they get and spend it locally. they are not going to france or england. yachts. not buying they spend it locally at local merchants.

it has a great multiplier effect. concession any other that you or your supporters could make? >> we already have. the initial bills we introduced -- we have already adjusted it. first change was going to month. in three ban >> we put in extensions for capital clement. -- equipment. we put that into help businesses that have to win equipment. these are some good benefits. >> when you expect a vote? senator reid wants to bring it up after the break.

>> why the delay? had -- next week we have another bill out of my committee, the child development log grant. -- block grant. they want to come back with the unemployment extension germans -- insurance extension. >> you can watch the entire interview with tom harkin, chair of the health education labor and mentioned kitty -- pensions committee. >> what we are told both the students and as a nation in terms of the popular imagination is there are all kinds of siddons and demonstrations and marches that occur. they are done by these famous, iconic people. rosa parks who was so tired that

she refused to get up from the bus and sparked the bus boycott. a young preacher who the president referred to as a young preacher from georgia. dr. martin luther king jr.. of africane masses americans from racial oppression. this idea that rosa sat and martin could do this stuff and jesse could run and barack could fly, they sound good but they simplify a much more public it is history you read -- a much more complicated history. it involves women and men who dismantled segregation. rosa parks was an activist. herdidn't refuse to give up seat by accident. it was a concerted strategic effort to transform democratic institutions.

>> he specializes in the subfield of africana and what he calls like power studies. his latest will be in bookstores march 4. he will take your question sunday live for three hours starting at noon eastern on c-span two's tv. dish book tv. harrywill be talking with smith of nbc news. he has a special for cnbc that aired last night. it will rear tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. looking at colorado and its legal marijuana sales. and the legal marijuana sales made possible by a new law that went into effect this year. here is a look at this. colorado pot rush. >> come along on a ride with us. we are about to take you on a place unlike any other. marijuana is legal. a sense of money is in the air.

smoked a joint. >> i no longer have to feel like a criminal. i am not doing anything wrong. kevin and rachel are pot to a risk, so happy to be a mile high. joining us from new york, harry smith. let's begin with what led you to this story and to put together this special. first states in the nation to make recreational marijuana legal, let alone first place in the world to say this is something we will do in a legal way. will eat cookies and what have you. nation of the netherlands turn the shoulder to say it is ok.

the worldplace in where recreational sale of marijuana is legal. guest: what did yohost: what di? www.c-span.org [laughter] that the size of the business is so much larger than anyone anticipated. the state of colorado aim out last week that they think in the fiscal year to come amid they think the marijuana business in colorado alone will be worth $1 billion. that isa phenomenon taking the stage by storm. page ofick up the front the new york times this morning, moving state by state by state. likely be on the ballots this year in alaska. probably coming soon to rhode island. lots of states are talking about it, not only from legalization from a freedom issue, but in that they think

they can collect as a result of legal marijuana. what do you think states that are looking at this can learn from colorado and the peace you put together atco time: we spent a lot of with the governor, a pretty small guy. he calls what is going on in colorado a great social experiment. if it really is a social experiment, colorado is the petri dish in which all the other state should keep an eye on. the nationalat governors association conference this past weekend come and he everyone to take it slow. this is unchartered territory. if states and legislatures are seeing dollar signs, what no one really knows is the cost of this. what is the social cost? are people going to be driving

high? addiction rates going up? what is the cost of having a society that says this is something that is ok with us? host: listening a little bit to what the governor had to say to you when you sat down with him for the special. you could become as the stoner state. >> we have had three new fortune 500 companies in the past three years. we are very proud of that. some employers will think twice. acutely awarer is that being the first on the path means his state has no blueprint to follow. of us realize it will be a great social experiment. >> i spent 16 years in the restaurant business and it is a great social experiment.

host: how are they going about it? the business is highly regulated. there are a lot of bureaucratic hoops you have to go through in order to go into the marijuana business. if you think i am going to put the business over here and sell from seed toide, sale. very highly regulated business. doing their best to get control of what is this kind of exploding geyser, so to speak. as he says, everything they do is thinking, trying to think out-of-the-box and get control of this and make sure it works

out for everyone's benefit. at least two of many people's benefit as possible. host: what is the cost to be part of the industry their? guest: the profits are phenomenal. we talked to one of the guys that was a lawyer. of his law partners came up to him a couple of years ago and said why don't we open up a shop that only deals with the marijuana trade? aat in and of itself is pretty lucrative idea. this guy said why don't we just cut to the chase and go into the marijuana business? i asked him, what is it like being in the marijuana business? he said it is like holding a winning lottery ticket. the people in this and know what they are doing are making serious money. also, there are people who did not know what

they are doing or do not have business acumen and will be weeded out very quickly. host: so there will be losers in this? guest: of course there will. just like any other business proposition. the people who know what they are doing will continue to prosper. clue that have less of a will probably get gobbled up by the ones that do. what you saw in colorado on the business landscape? all of the different businesses that are trying to be a part of this movement. stunning because one of the things i was completely unaware of him and for those of us on the east coast that have not been exposed to merit -- medical marijuana, at least from my perspective, it is a de facto legalization. if you want to get medical marijuana tom it is very, very easy to get a prescription for

it. medical or one almost have a de facto legalization. york, there in new is nothing within hundreds of miles that we can use as an example. is like athere and it brave new world. one of the things i was stunned by was the fact that people smoke marijuana and use all kinds of edible raw ducks. 40% of the business right now is in edibles and non-smokable's. you go to a marijuana shop and there are always chocolate bars and laced with highly refined and super ash oil, basically .arijuana squeeze together that is one aspect. the other aspect are the things thathave easily correct

have used super purified hash oil. that is a huge part of the business. if you think you're going to go out there and buy this, there are all these other things to buy. as a result, some of the the manufacturing of that, they cannot grow fast enough to meet the demand. host: going to phone calls. paul in massachusetts. republican collar. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have a two-part question. the first part is where is the marijuana being grown? and who is doing the roebling? -- growing? host: in colorado, if you grow with, you have to sell it yourself. it is fairly new. there is no separation. they feel like they have better control.

host: next caller. years: i spent about 20 smoking marijuana and stopped and feel so much better in every way. the real question is about why do we want to smoke it? put pot in the pipe and smoke it and are intoxicated. the question is, why do we want to escape reality? spiritually, physically, and mentally. why do we want to escape cap: guest? guest: that is the part of the question that what is the part of the social contract? you saw enforcement people you

talk to, drug addiction experts, what we will do is take one more intoxicant and put it into the public square and say it is ok to use. one thing they know for sure is marijuana has a series -- serious affect on the brains of young people. if you're going to move to colorado and you have a 14-year-old boy who says they say it is legal and how can it be that much different than beer ? turns out a lot different, especially on a kid's brain. a lot of moving parts to this issue. very interesting who is on the side of legalizing. demographically, the younger you are the more likely you are to say it is a good idea. gallup poll says 58% in click a was a and is a good idea. libertarians say this is

personal responsibility and personal freedom, why should we restrict access to it? a huge conversation of the country is just now starting to have. colorado is the place where if you want to look and see what is going on, that is the place to look and see it. runningrry smith together a special for cnbc. last night it aired. it will re-air again tonight at 8:00 eastern time. erewhon and america. issue.ighs in on the a social cost? no more stop in cops in neighborhoods. guest: it is very interesting. a lot of the people we talked to said decriminalization is a very

good idea. people say shouldn't be decriminalized? probably yeah. i think maybe the best idea is to take baby steps. that is just my experience from being involved in this in the past month or so. host: what is happening in colorado on the issue of criminal and legal issues? have a face more problems because of it? we talk to the district attorney in boulder am a for instance, and people say that is the people's republic. is aistrict attorney there big law and order guy. attorney ofdistrict

the state. he said when it comes to paneling a journey of a marijuana case, he said no one cares. he senses that maybe this really is the way to go. the last e-mail sent let's take it out of the hands of the criminal population. make sure the state has as much regulatory control as possible, and if we can watch it that way and make -- watch how it is distributed, make -- maybe we can not only decriminalize it but take it out -- out of the criminal population. if you sell it as a recreational drug, people would use it as people use alcohol. there are so many -- i said over and over again, it is like watching a genie come out of a bottle. we have no idea what will continue to happen as this genie

continues to grow and grow. look into the impact of this on drug dealers? a drug dealer in boulder who said his business is as good as ever. he said the price of marijuana in the retail stores is so high that he has undercut it easily. a lot of marijuana and one-yeare one billion dollars. that is a lot. , we are beating the metaphors to death but this is the tip of the iceberg. the demand or it is quite

substantial. host: boring file clerk tweets -- that is the thing, and i think that is what he is saying, do not be so tempted that was just on the outside looks attractive to you. lifted inbition was 1933 they said all the years before when the movement was going on, said it is bad for society etc. etc., all the years later they said maybe the social contract is worth the trade. we will take the bad stuff with the benefits of having best. he is talkingt about. legalizing an intoxicant. what the downside is, we're not really in a position to measure it yet. host: larry up next.

republican collar from indiana. is, what isuestion the legal ramifications for anijuana sales? we just had accident happen in south bend, indiana, where the gentleman driving the car was high on marijuana. do they have the same response as a bartender selling someone alcohol in go out? make a really good point, because this is all brand-new territory. so if we stop a guy who we think is driving high on that the only guy -- way you can find out content in someone's blood is through a blood test. to say will you consent to a blood test? the legal ramifications you

suggest could be almost impotent. if the guy is using thc it determined he caused the accident or maybe even kill someone on the highway, who then backwards of the food chain is responsible? bartender and the guy uses it andight over the counter walked out and kill someone, there is responsibility that way. hand, you will not go back to a liquor store and say you sold this guy a bottle of gin and he drove and killed somebody. it does not work that way. you pose a very interesting question. we have no idea where all of this goes. hickenlooper says stop, slow down and see how this plays out, and maybe as the states decide or not decide how to proceed, there will be a better roadmap.

host: joan weighs in about the quality of the popped. are there any regulations as far as pesticides on the plants? guest: there is a lot of new testing regulations going into affect so that if you go in and buy an edible and says it is that what itthc says on the label has to be backed up through testing. you asked about the businesses cropping up, that is another business is testing centers. the stuff they are selling in the stores is many more times

more powerful than the stuff that was around when i was in college for instance. there were dinosaurs on earth when i was in college. host: those tasting parties, want to show the viewers from the special you put together, your profile of jane west. fax at a private art gallery in denver, the tail crowd has shelled out $100 each to hobnob over hors d'oeuvres, fine wine, and locally cultivated but. -- bud. of colorado's more progressive precincts, this is the new normal. the cd confines of basements and back rooms, po t becoming a pick -- fixture of polite society. >> everone brought different samples. kind of like wine tasting.

likes of jane west is the orchestrator of this. >> i put together this event. clearly there is a market for this. people that want to be at this party. she is a suburban 37-year-old mother of two. she makes no apologies. >> i use marijuana, and that is ok. what did you make of the martha stewart of pot? guest: [laughter] one of the reasons we used that segment was the whole question of so is colorado wake up in the itst day of january and say is donor nation.

there are people using it from many walks of life using a on a fairly consistent basis. now they are just out of the closet so to speak. i spoke to a colleague whose husband was on a business trip in colorado, skied all afternoon and then would go down to breckenridge and buy pot. it is a different world than i think many of us suspect. when yout is it like are walking around the cities in colorado? do you see it everywhere yeah co? guest: only 150 retail stores right now. by the way, one of the other segments on the show, if people do not see it last night, it will be on again tonight, each town, each minute totality -- mu nicipality can allow if it

wants to allow pot sales. said wes a town that want to take a wait and see attitude. we do not want that in our town right now. talk to the police chief, really smart guy who has been in business -- been and policing for four years and said i have enough problems with what i have problems with now, why do i want to introduce the sale of another intoxicant into the community? he said here are all my fears. he said we wake up two or three years from now and fears are unfounded, that will be fine, but in the meantime, these are things i would rather not have to worry about. ,ost: jim in new york democratic caller. a greatthere is publication that i doubt anyone from cnbc would think about reading.

they are getting very interesting statistics in california. they say in california during growing season they use over 60 million gallons of water. also, they say by growing plants, it sucks up as much electricity as 29 refrigerators. they also talk about damage is being done to the environment by the way it is being grown in california. i agree that california might get around this, but it is doing a lot of damage to the environment the way it is being done in california. as it turns out, i did see that piece. the legalizers would say that is why this needs to be legalized. you go out into the wilderness in california, yes, they are using tremendous amounts of pesticides, herbicides and who knows what.

the environmental this action is quite phenomenal. this is marijuana growth outside the law. the legalizers would say that is one more reason to bring it under a state jurisdiction, because that way the environmental benefits even to legalizing marijuana. piece. great if people are interested in this as an issue, go on mother jones. host: a tweet from a viewer -- guest: which is what happened last week and san francisco. a mom had her daughter set up in of a medical marijuana dispensary and sold out 157 boxes in record time. excited -- aside,

what are the under industries -- other industries popping up because of colorado? guest: that is the joke that' frito sales going through the roof in colorado. it is interesting as you look at this. one of the things we talked about was edible. people go out there and because it is so powerful it will take a bar in will want to consume the whole thing. because it is so edible and what is in it is so powerful they say take a bite, to bite, 45 minute and then see how you feel. a lot of people are so tempted by it, they would consume the whole thing, you will not talk for two days if you eat the whole thing. very powerful stuff. >> that is because of the hash

oil. the thc level is 80-90% versus regular marijuana, which is in the teens. how are they addressing the issue? guest: well, part of the regulation we talked about and the testing that goes on if you thehis bar has 30% tchc, state is trying to get a handle on making sure what they sell is not so super intoxicated. we solved some of what is being made, and they will take the into al now and make it clear sheet and chunk it up into tiny chunks and that is like a super potent kind of thc experience. listen, i have no idea. i was sitting there.

but like i was flying by the seat of my pants. i have never seen anything like it. in the states where the medical marijuana has been around for a couple of years, this is normal you sayr guys like me, holy cow, i had no idea. the production of hash oil can be dangerous. especially if you are doing it yourself. the guys with a very sophisticated system that we looked at, they spend small fortunes on the processing on the machinery. it is highly proprietary. as the legalization and the popularity of this stuff moves from state to state to state, what they then do is sell that system, at least the licensing in different states because you cannot transport over state lines.

but the technology, the system -- sophistication of the technology involved, is really quite astounding. if you want to try the processing, that really is one of those don't try this at home. independent caller. and thankod morning, you for taking my call. hashr as many fracturing oil, getting out of the shower can be dangerous. i would just like to make that point. my issue is the federal government, marijuana is still illegal, correct? get ahere in florida i group of people together and we decide to walk on our state legislature and say we want constitution, heroin and slavery legal, isn't that a form of

secession? isn't it treason to go directly against the federal law and then the federal government does nothing? guest: listen, i think that is a very interesting question. as you well know, the federal government said once they had a referendum and said we would legalize it, the federal government said we will not fight you about this. oft as i take russian, one the other huge issues is the banking industry does not want to get caught up. dois saying i will not business with a marijuana dealer because the federal government says it is schedule one and illegal. the owner comes out to say we will make it easier for you and the banking industry says you have not set the bar high enough

and we are still not going to get involved in this. so we have all of these crazy loopholes. of theorado, all marijuana businesses are all cash businesses. guys are walking into the western union office with pillowcases full of money to get money orders though they can pay their utility bills. it is pretty crazy. walking into pay their taxes with briefcases full of cash. it is really quite insane. until the federal government says maybe this is not a class one drug, maybe that will balance out in some way. secessiono sure it is necessarily, but you have the federal government and the state government that is really an opposition right now, at least in terms of pure law.

host: talking with harry smith about his special that debuted last night. if you missed it, it will re-air tonight at 8:00 eastern time. judy, republican collar. -- caller. this is theink wrong thing they are trying to do in florida. it isally when they say from god and grows from earth. so does oil humming out of the ground. are we supposed to drink that, to. i have a nephew on this for years and years and i pray every day god would deliver him. to me, i think a lot of people i know smoke this. a lot of them have bipolar and act crazy. a sad society that we are living stoned we have to stay all the time. get god in your heart, and you will have a natural hat. -- high.

guest: no doubt about that. which re-airs, tonight at 8:00 and again friday night at 10:00, we talked to drug addiction experts, and this is a serious concern that they guest 10% of the people exposed to marijuana like a lot of other intoxicants will become addicted. no one is really having a sense that as a society says, that this is ok that we use this. talking with chris matthews last night and he said i have a feeling we will wake up a couple of years from now in the state of colorado will be a lot less ambitious. insidious or innocent? i am not so sure it is one or the other or someplace in between. >> the caller from florida saying she disagrees with what they are doing their.