With Californians voting on full-legalization of marijuana in November, is the prospect of Starbucks-like chain-store dispensaries far off? In Los Angeles there are a handful of owners who control more than one pot shop.

But this slick notice really raised our eyebrows: A pot-shop “merchant services” company called Cannabis Medical Solutions Inc., which is a publicly traded (over-the-counter) concern based in Tennessee, reports that it is in negotiations to buy at least two medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

Even as the Los Angeles City Council has moved to shut down most of this city's pot shops, we have to wonder if it's not a bad move. The ballot initiative before voters would regulate marijuana like alcohol. Those dispensaries that are open — and those with multiple locations — might have an advantage.

“It has always been a part of our business plan to not only partner with dispensaries on the merchant processing and financial security side, but to franchise, consult and brand licensed dispensaries throughout legal jurisdictions under the Cannabis Medical Solutions name,” states Kyle Gotshalk, CEO of Cannabis Medical Solutions.

Far out man.

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