improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article reads like a news release or is otherwise written in a promotional tone . please help by either rewriting this article from a neutral point of view or by moving this article to wikinews . when appropriate blatant advertising may be marked for speedy deletion with db spam . october 2013 this article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on wikipedia . see wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions . october 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message weedmaps llc type private industry medical marijuana founded july 2008 headquarters orange county ca denver co key people justin hartfield founder & board chairman doug francis ceo chris beals president products weedmaps.com mmjmenu marijuana.com cannabis.com slogan find the good stuff website weedmaps.com weedmaps is an online legal marijuana community that allows users to review and discuss cannabis strains and local dispensaries . the website is similar to yelp and contains a database with over 3 000 medical marijuana dispensaries and over 950 strains of cannabis . the company was launched in july 2008 by justin hartfield and keith hoerling . the site attracts approximately two million monthly visitors and has annual revenue of 18 million . 1 2 3 weedmaps is widely considered the industry leader and premier medical marijuana site on the web catering to the entire industry from patients to businesses and continues to see substantial growth . contents 1 history 1.1 weedmaps partnership with norml 1.2 hartfield wall street journal interview 2 products and services 2.1 content 2.2 community 2.3 proximity map 2.4 mobile applications 3 references history edit in march 2009 techcrunch and the washington post posted a story entitled weedmaps wants to be a help for cannabis clubs which reported that the website was seeing an average of 48 % growth per month since launching in july 2008 with several thousand registered patients . 3 a 2009 new york daily news article said of weedmaps there s a new stoner s paradise on the web and is a website where medical marijuana patients can connect with other patients in their area to freely discuss and review local cannabis co operatives and dispensaries . 4 in november 2010 weedmaps was acquired by general cannabis incorporated for an undisclosed amount . as part of acquisition founder justin hartfield became weedmaps chief web officer . 1 5 a 2010 techcrunch article reported that weedmaps grew their 2009 monthly revenue of 20 000 to 400 000 a month in 2010 with approximately 50 000 registered users . 6 in november 2011 weedmaps acquired marijuana.com for 4.2 million . the acquisition included the marijuana.com domain name as well as all of the site s content . 1 2 in december 2011 weedmaps acquired mmjmenu a denver based software entity that provides back end enterprise software for medical marijuana dispensaries . the software handles everything from patient management to inventory control to checkout at point of sale . 7 mmjmenu allows medical marijuana businesses to track their sales and revenue from seed to sale servicing medical marijuana states such as california colorado washington and michigan . 7 in february 2013 general cannabis sold all cannabis related businesses including weedmaps back to the original founders . 8 in june 2013 hartfield and business partner and coo doug francis formally announced the formation of ghost group and its offspring the emerald ocean capital firm the first marijuana venture capital firm to connect and invest through emerging companies in legal cannabis and medical marijuana sectors . 9 10 also in june 2013 business insider dubbed hartfield the first venture capitalist of the pot industry . 11 within the interview hartfield a board member at norml and the marijuana policy project expressed his goal for federal legalization stating that for a truly sustained market for international players to try to be involved in it it has to be federally legal . it has to be regulated like alcohol with sensible reasonable regulations for everybody . a market can be created and the government can get their cut as well . 11 weedmaps partnership with norml edit in october 2011 weedmaps entered into an online partnership with norml.org helping to revamp the site . this partnership signified weedmaps effort to aid legalization efforts and take a more active approach within the marijuana community . 12 hartfield wall street journal interview edit in a july 2009 wall street journal interview justin hartfield admitted that he exaggerated the severity of his insomnia to gain access to medical marijuana for recreational use . hartfield commented that his interaction with the medical cannabis system is evidence that the system is a total farce . 13 products and services edit content edit weedmaps provides listing services for medical marijuana dispensaries doctors offices and delivery services throughout the united states . the site accepts reviews from any patient in medical marijuana states . 14 along with its business and social services weedmaps also participates in and hosts events connecting medical marijuana patients with one another and promoting activism and safe access . community edit weedmaps combines local dispensaries reviews and social networking functionality to create an online community . the website includes a forum private messaging function a job board and q & a from fellow patients . 15 proximity map edit the weedmaps proximity map utilizes a google maps interface that pinpoints the dispensaries which are closest to a user . 3 the proximity feature also presents advertisements for dispensaries based on a user s geographical location . 3 mobile applications edit weedmaps is also the most widely used and downloaded medical marijuana mobile application in both google and apple s application stores providing services for both android and iphone users that are medical marijuana patients on the google play and the apple app store . 16 17 references edit a b c vc firm hopes for high returns with fund for marijuana venturebeat retrieved september 2013 check date values in access date help a b weedmaps acquires marijuana.com for a kushy 4.20 million techcrunch retrieved september 21 2013 a b c d weedmaps wants to be a yelp for cannabis clubs . techcrunch.com . 2009 03 12 . retrieved september 21 2013 . hill catey 2009 03 12 . new web site weedmaps.com helps you find medical marijuana near you . new york nydailynews.com . retrieved september 21 2013 . passing the joint venture general cannabis inhales weedmaps techcrunch retrieved september 21 2013 weedmaps tops 400 000 a month in revenues public listing imminent techcrunch retrieved september 21 2013 a b weedmaps buys medical marijuana inventory and patient management software mmjmenu techcrunch retrieved september 21 2013 weedmaps founders buy weedmaps back from general cannabis nwbud.com retrieved september 21 2013 venture capital firm ghost group launches marijuana industry fund the wall street journal retrieved september 21 2013 vc firm launches legal cannabis fund orange county business journal retrieved september 21 2013 a b justin hartfield is about to become the first venture capitalist of the pot industry business insider retrieved september 21 2013 norml partners with weedmaps to revamp norml.org the weed blog retrieved september 21 2013 medical marijuana in california aspires to go commercial . the wall street journal . 2009 07 23 . retrieved 2012 06 26 . california sprouts marijuana green rush . usa today . 2009 07 18 . retrieved september 21 2013 . weedmaps.com california medical marijuana dispensary directory & review site . the marijuana news network . 2009 10 09 . retrieved september 21 2013 . android apps google itunes apple store apple.com retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title weedmaps & oldid 738256316 categories medicinal use of cannabis organizations based in the united statessocial networking serviceshidden categories cs1 errors datesarticles with a promotional tone from october 2013all articles with a promotional tonewikipedia articles needing style editing from october 2013all articles needing style editing navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 7 september 2016 at 21 25 . text is 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