Global Ganja Report

Dubbed the "Wal-Mart of Weed," the 10,000-square-foot weGrow store, set to open this weekend at 1537 Fulton Ave. in Sacramento, is the first franchise for a company that calls itself a supply and training destination for legal cannabis cultivators. The enterprise started in Oakland last year as a warehouse store called iGrow. Now the Oakland location is being reorganized as a distribution hub for a network of retail hydroponics outlets. The Sacramento store—billed as "the first honest hydro store"—is to be followed by weGrow stores in Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey and Oregon in coming months.

"I just thought it was a statement to have something close to the state Capitol," said Dhar Mann, who founded the original iGrow in January 2010. "It's a statement of how progressive the industry has become. We're all about coming out of the shadows." (Sacramento Bee, Feb. 25)