You can go ahead and mess with the laser, but any damage you cause to the laser will be solely your fault. I yanked the A475 capacitor out and the laser doesn't have any more delay. I turned the pot +180deg, and noticed that the laser has a stronger initial output, but that output dims to maybe 10mw or so after a few seconds. I went back and turned the pot only about +30deg, and feel that this is a good compromise.
If anyone finds a better pot angle, let me know. This is my pot in the unturned position, which I designate 0deg. The module is upside down in this picture.
Too bad we don't have cheap power meters to measure the power output =(