Wal-Mart of Weed: Marijuana market to flourish in US as legal control weakens

It is good times ahead for medical marijuana business in the US. Authorities are loosening the legal noose around marijuana growing in Arizona, Detroit, and Los Angeles which will see super stores selling weed for relieving illnesses.

As it turns out the ‘Wal-Mart of Weed’ or ‘Home DePot’ opened in Arizona on Wednesday in a 21,000-square-foot store. The store promoted by weGrow will sell around 2,000 products, including soil, grow lights and irrigation trays, designed for easy growing of marijuana. “We sell the products and the services for people to safely and responsibly cultivate their medicine”, Dhar Mann, founder of weGrow, told Reuters.

While readily consumable marijuana will not be available at the store, doctors to issue approval for patients to obtain legal rights from the state authorities will be present who will diagnose the those ailments that requires consumption of marijuana for relief. The state of Arizona has begun accepting applications for the legal permit from needy patients who can collectively or alone grow marijuana at their homes.

As pro-medical marijuana activists rejoice in Arizona, there have been statewide protests reported in Holland City where the Holland City Council passed a new law banning the cultivation of marijuana within 1000 ft of schools. The new safe-zone law has irked the patients and growers, who would now find it complicated if they happen to be in the ‘banned zone’.

Joe Cain, chief executive officer of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association, has been reported to have voiced his disappointment regarding the new law because “It criminalizes medical marijuana”. The new amendment had been rejected earlier by the Planning Commission because of unnecessary restraints, and is now passed for a narrow margin of 5-4 votes. Since marijuana growing is still illegal in the eyes of federal government, the pro-marijuana people and legislators are just not able to comprehend the reason why they should not grow it only in certain areas. The argument goes somewhat like this- if you are wrong, there cannot be a righteous wrong.

The state authorities of Arizona have approached the federal court to clear the air regarding the penalizing of its citizens if they happen to grow medical marijuana with the state permit. According to a Reuters report, Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, had sent a warning letter to the state which says that cultivation, sale and distribution of cannabis, classified by the U.S. government will remain to be a federal crime.

With an estimated 1 million medical marijuana users, US federal laws cannot remain to be hard hitting for too long, according to pro-weed activists. The weed-store weGrow is looking forward to expanding their business far and wide in the US and is expecting to tap into the potential marijuana market which could bring in business worth billions of dollars.