Doesn't this mean that, now, anyone can put a couple of seeds in the ground and a couple of months later walk off with thousands of dollars? Well, not exactly.

In Joint Ventures, CNBC anchor Trish Regan offers an in-depth and up-to-date report on America's newest (and oldest), most exciting (and riskiest) start-up industry.

Pot is often called America's number-one cash crop, with tens of billions of dollars and millions of people involved. As a business journalist, Trish Regan wanted to understand the story behind the numbers. Drawing on interviews with marijuana growers, sellers, investors, and would-be brokers, Regan reveals the opportunities and drawbacks presented by the hybrid legal status of marijuana. From Mexican drug gangs to suburban moms supplementing their incomes, FBI raids to legalization in Portugal, gourmet cannabis cafés to businesses making money on seeds, manuals, and "gardening" equipment, Regan shows you just how this industry is booming and what it means for the communities and economies affected.

Of course, the market for illegal pot still dwarfs the medical demand. Regan takes a close look at the domestic and international pot-smuggling trade and assesses its many costs, from gang violence and big profits for criminals to billions of dollars in lost tax revenues, and the potential boon of legalization to local economies across the nation.

As more states consider following the legalization trend, Joint Ventures takes you behind the scenes to discover how America's exploding marijuana economy operates today, painting a picture of what is likely to happen on a national scale.