A Budding New Industry?

Whether congress or scientists can come to agree on the merits of medical marijuana or not, the industry seems to be priming itself for a leap forward. One company in particular has begun to take advantage on a larger scale. WeGrow is a department store that sells products to assist people in the growing of Medical Marijuana. They do not sell any actual marijuana products only tools, soils and other items that can facilitate the process. The company is dedicated to growth and has started to use franchising as a method to open more stores. Currently they have stores operating in Sacramento (their original location), Phoenix and Washington D.C. and in the next few months they expect to have locations in New Jersey, Colorado and Oregon.

WeGrow has to fight an uphill battle in order to make sure that they can survive, with the legality of marijuana very much in limbo, the industry they are trying to create is at great risk. However, it seems to be no mistake that locations have opened up in political areas. Sacramento is the capitol of California and it goes without saying that they are feeding the political fire by opening up in D.C. If the stores are successful WeGrow will be sending a message to policy makers about the merits of medical marijuana, as a profitable industry.

Furthermore, weGrow is planning to have an IPO. This has the potential to really catapult the industry forward and could plant the seeds for a major new market where WeGrow would have the opportunity to be the ambassador or as they are described, truly become the “Walmart of Weed.” If the big financial players invest in WeGrow, they could put immense pressure on politicians to loosen their grip on Marijuana. Much like with the housing crisis, if everyone starts making money, it will be hard to stop the chain.

WeGrow is also taking a page from Whole Foods. They do not only sell the products needed to grow marijuana but they are also providing classes on how to grow marijuana as well as magazines and literature on marijuana. By doing this they are taking over a great portion of the value chain and supply chain for the marijuana industry. However, by not directly growing they are increasing their chances of selling on a large scale. Since marijuana has to be grown in a low key fashion, there may be more profits in supplying tools to the growers.

Personally, I believe it is inevitable that this industry will evolve and be recognized legally on a large scale. Since the price of growing marijuana is bound to have less costs then manufacturing other painkillers such as Morphine and Vicodin, (science pending) marijuana has the potential to be a much more affordable drug and could likely be distributed to patients very easily. Also since marijuana can be consumed as an edible and not only by smoking, it would not require that people change their behavior in order to take the drug. If the science ends up being behind it, and people continue to demand marijuana as they do now, WeGrow could be the pioneer of a budding industry.