The estimated value of marijuana is more than the top five leading cash farm receipts for commodities in California combined.

The 2016 election helped pave the way.

BOSTON (AP) -- As marijuana shops sprout in states that have legalized the drug, they face a critical stumbling block - lack of access to the kind of routine banking services other businesses take for granted.

Black Friday is the time for door-buster electronics sales, deeply discounted fashion and, oh yeah, purchasing holiday gifts for loved ones. And it's also becoming a big shopping day for medical marijuana.

Brands are looking to capitalize on the potential outcomes of Election Day, where voters in a number of states could legalize cannabis, creating massive new markets overnight.

On the eve of a vote that could legalize recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, a Colorado company is preparing to build the state’s largest marijuana greenhouse, a sprawling, high-tech complex that could eventually expand to nearly 1 million square feet.

With the potential end to California’s prohibition on recreational cannabis now before voters in November, it poises to open Humboldt County up to an even larger market.

LANSING — A fully developed legal market for medical marijuana in Michigan could lead to millions of dollars in new state tax revenue.

The shop, which opened its doors in 2015, is run by the city, making it the only government-operated cannabis store in the country.