• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, January 2, 2014

Marijuana is now being legally sold for recreational use in Colorado, and Washington State is not far behind; meanwhile the sale of marijuana for medical use is permitted in 16 other states and the District of Columbia. As for the rest of the country, well, it may not be legal but it was still one of the top three cash crops (by value) in 30 states in 2006 according to drugscience.org.

In short, Americans seem rather fond of cannabis, and this predilection supports a whole host of allied industries, ranging from snack food and video games to enthusiast magazines and social media. In fact, there’s a social network -- MassRoots -- entirely devoted to enabling medical marijuana patients to connect with each other and share marijuana-related pictures and articles.

MassRoots, which just raised $150,000 in seed (heh) investment from members of the ArcView Group, claims to have more than 25,000 active users and 28 million photo views via its app in December alone. Typical content shared on the network includes updates on the legalization effort, recipes for edible marijuana, and of course a plethora of technical information about different strains and varieties, cultivation techniques, and so on. Users don’t have to provide their real names or email addresses, affording more anonymity than most social nets.

While MassRoots is clearly pro-marijuana, the company noted that from an investor standpoint it’s a much safer investment opportunity than other parts of the marijuana industry, since it doesn’t actually handle marijuana itself (members may use the network to get in touch to arrange transactions, but that can be done just as easily on Facebook or Craigslist).

MassRoots cofounder Isaac Dietrich stated: “By creating a network for the cannabis community, MassRoots is connecting tens of thousands of marijuana consumers, building a marketing and distribution channel for legal cannabis, and empowering the legalization movement itself. In the process, we are creating a unique and valuable company that will deliver substantial returns to its shareholders.”