NEW TRADE GROUP'S FOCUS WILL BE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

DENVER -- It is being called the green rush. With more states moving
to legalize medical marijuana, the business of growing and dispensing
it is booming, even as much of the rest of the economy struggles.

Now, flush with financial clout, and with their eyes on pushing
Congress to further loosen laws, medical marijuana industry leaders
are forming a national trade association. While there are smaller,
local trade groups, organizers around the country say this will be
the first business organization working on the national level.

Based in Washington, the group, the National Cannabis Industry
Association, will focus primarily on lobbying, but will also help
medical marijuana businesses navigate a patchwork of laws that differ
depending on location.

"This is an industry that is emerging -- from the dispensaries to the
ancillary businesses that are now coming out of the shadows," said
Aaron Smith, a medical marijuana advocate in Phoenix and the group's
executive director. "While there is good work being done, there isn't
anyone out there representing the industry's interests directly."

The group's board members, which include some of the more prominent
names in the medical marijuana industry, say the need for a national
association has become increasingly apparent with the explosion of
the legal marijuana business. Such businesses include dispensaries,
growing facilities and equipment suppliers.

J. B. Woods, a former insurance agent for Allstate who now sells
property and product-liability insurance to medical marijuana
businesses in Colorado and other states, is one of the 23 board
members. Mr. Woods said the industry had grown so quickly and laws
had changed so rapidly that it can be difficult for medical marijuana
businesses -- and the property owners and banks they deal with -- to
know if they are operating legally.

"A lot of times these dispensaries can make a huge capital investment
only to find out that the local municipality changed its rules, and
they have to close down," he said. "You are in an industry that is
very complicated, and ultimately it's about having a source of
credible information."

The group will officially begin at a national convention in Denver next month.

"This is an industry in its infancy," said Bob Selan, a board member
and chief executive of Kush magazine, a medical marijuana lifestyle
publication. "But it is an industry now."