Leafly and Other Marijuana Startups Hope to Gain as US Eases Up on Pot Alice Truong - Fast Company
go to original October 21, 2013

Jamen Shively of Diego Pellicer on The National Geographic Channel (Diego Pellicer)

It's not just growers and dispensaries that stand to make money off Americans hitting the bong. Startups are finding opportunities as more states loosen up their stance on marijuana. The industry scored a major victory when U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declared in August that the Department of Justice wouldn't challenge laws passed in Washington and Colorado legalizing pot for adult use. But that doesn't mean the war on drugs is over. There's still a haze surrounding ganja: Growing, selling, and possession are considered illegal in the eyes of the federal government.

With shifting attitudes toward cannabis - a majority of Americans are now in favor of legalization - companies are looking to capitalize on the flowering pot industry, estimated to bring in $30 billion a year in the United States. In Canada, which recently launched a medical marijuana free market, the industry is expected to reach $1.3 billion in a decade.



One of the trends Seattle-based Leafly has noticed is an almost connoisseur-like approach to bud. Just as there are foodies who read Yelp, there are stoners who consult Leafly, a cannabis database made up of more than 50,000 strain reviews and 20,000 dispensary reviews. Leafly provides a resource for 2.6 million visitors each month. In August, the company launched an editorial site covering all the Mary Jane news a toker needs to know, from ongoing legalization efforts to how-to guides for first-time users.

Read the rest at Fast Company

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