'Wal-Mart of Pot' Spreads like Weeds Across the Country to Service the Needs of the Exploding Marijuana Industry

When the California gold rush began in the 1800s, it's said the real money wasn't in panning for gold but selling the picks, axes and pans to the potential prospectors looking to get rich.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Marijuana is the new hot thing in the them thar hills. With the growing public acceptance of the medical and casual use of marijuana, contradictory laws and the federal government trying desperately to plug a gaping hole in drug policy, many feel the time is ripe to get in on the ground floor of the new "green rush."

Despite federal crackdowns and municipalities attempting to ban collectives from their city limits, WeGrow is positioning itself as the WalMart of pot, reports CBS. However, it does not sell the drug, edibles or seeds — what it does sell is everything else the budding (pun intended) entrepreneur looking to get started in the marijuana business.

WeGrow has stores in Sacramento and Phoenix, with additional franchises in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. New locations in San Jose and Flagstaff, Arizona are planned, with expansion into Oregon, Washington state and Michigan.

Its first shop on the East Coast opened up in Washington D.C., in the shadow of many of the federal agencies attempting to put an end to marijuana consumption.

"The more that businesses start to push the envelope by showing that this is a legitimate industry, the further we're going to be able to go in changing people's minds," weGrow founder Dhar Mann told CBS.

San Francisco Moves to Outlaw Medical Pot Dispensaries

Though San Francisco's known for being a tolerant sort of town, recent moves by its district attorney, George Gascón, points to a citywide crackdown on its dispensaries.

 A woman making a delivery for a collective and the buyer were arrested and charged by the DA. Both were patients of the collective and the woman was working on its behalf at the time of the arrest.

 “While California’s medical marijuana laws may be complex, the law is clear that all sales of medical marijuana are illegal,” The San Francisco Examiner quotes Gascón as writing. “The ... shell game that continues to be played with medical marijuana immunities does not change that conclusion.”

Gascón takes the position that all patients of a collective must have an active role in the cultivation of its marijuana. However, the DA's office later stated that its position was originally taken by Kamala Harris, who is now California's Attorney General.