The debate about medical marijuana has grown legs in recent years, with up to 16 states and the District of Columbia legalizing it for medical purposes. But now our country’s capital will house one of the first stores that caters specifically to users of the drug on the East Coast.

WeGrow will be the first store to open up its doors to people who want to purchase marijuana for medical use.

According to the Associated Press,

“WeGrow is not unlike a typical retailer in mainstream America, with towering shelves of plant food and vitamins, ventilation and lighting systems. Along with garden products, it offers how-to classes, books and magazines on growing medical marijuana.”

In a Gallup poll conducted last year, 50% of Americans believed that marijuana should be made legal. Another 70% agreed with the idea that it should be available specifically for medical use.

WeGrow makes no qualms about putting the tools in your hands to cultivate your own marijuana. In fact, they provide hydroponics — a method in which you can grow plants without soil — and other indoor growing equipment. Yet up until this point, they have been careful to keep a low profile – after all, the equipment is legal, the product is not.

The founder of WeGrow, Dharr Man, has opened up stores in California and Arizona, and will soon be expanding to Oregon, and New Jersey.

“The more that businesses start to push the envelope by showing that this is a legitimate industry,” says Mann, “the further we’re going to be able to go in changing people’s minds.”

According to an economic analysis done at the American Cannabis Research Institute, the national medical marijuana market was estimated to be worth $1.7 billion in 2011 and is projected to reach $8.9 billion within five years.

Do you think this could be a profitable market? Or could it run up against controversy from the federal government?

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