It’s in the billions.

Legalizing recreational marijuana could be a smart financial move for California.

A new study from the University of the Pacific in Stockton suggests legalizing recreational marijuana in California would create jobs and generate billions of dollars worth of business. The study was commissioned by Truth Enterprises, which is an investment fund focused on the legal cannabis industry.

California's state capital region could reap 20,000 jobs and generate $4.2 billion in business if it becomes a hub for a legalized marijuana industry, a study released on Monday showed, weeks before voters decide whether to allow recreational use of the drug.

The report from the University of the Pacific in Stockton was commissioned by the cannabis investment company Truth Enterprises, one of hundreds of businesses counting on voters to legalize pot next month.

Mention marijuana advertising to anyone who was alive in the 1970s, and you might draw out of them a famous Cheech and Chong jingle.

“No stems, no seeds that you don’t need,” goes the ditty, “Acapulco Gold is” — cue sound of someone toking on a joint — “badass weed!”

It was a joke at the time, but cannabis cultivators and dispensary owners across California are in a rush to polish their brands and come up with a campaign as effective as that one. Who, after all, hasn’t heard of Acapulco Gold?

Medical marijuana may be a billion-dollar industry in California, but it’s a cash business.

Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, most pot shops can’t get bank accounts or accept credit card transactions because the financial services companies fear they would be penalized or shut down by federal regulators for handling money gained from unlawful drug sales. That means marijuana products are typically sold for cash, and dispensary owners pay their employees, their landlords and others in cash as well. It’s not unusual for pot shop owners to haul bags of money — tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars — to the state tax collector’s office.

For Matt Kurth, the essentials of life have come through his love of the outdoors and organic gardening. And cannabis.

When he tried to blend two of these passions and grow marijuana one year, he found that he had his work cut out for him.

“I wanted to be a grower and then I tried it and it’s a ton of work,” he said. “People who don’t grow don’t realize how difficult it is.”

So after Humboldt County created a commercial medical marijuana market this year, Kurth, 33, decided to combine cannabis with his experience in the outdoor recreational industry to create what could be the county’s first cannabis tourism company — Humboldt Cannabis Tours. 

Voters could legalize recreational marijuana in five states this November and medical marijuana in three more. This record number of state ballot measures promise to be a great boon for the cannabusiness industry. With national prohibitions against interstate cannabis commerce, as well as current federal banking and drug laws, large companies have been kept out of the industry, so the market is still primarily comprised of small businesses.

California, Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada will consider legalizing  the recreational use of cannabis while Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota will decide on marijuana for medical purposes.

What’s going on state by state?

California, Prop 64 

Renowned billionaire and tech entrepreneur Richard Branson told a room full of cannabis advocates he was simply in the mood to "take a spliff or two," and much of the world is ready to legally take some tokes, too.

"Why not?" the Virgin Group founder asked a crowd of about 1,000 people Saturday during the second annual New West Summit conference, "The Future of Cannabis, Now," in downtown San Francisco.

Speaking via Skype, Branson, an unapologetic cannabis supporter, said he's spent the past five years serving on the Global Commission on Drug Policy along with former United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan and 15 former world leaders calling not only for the controversial decriminalization of drugs, but also for its legalization worldwide.

No matter who wins on Election Day, cannabis will have a big day at the ballot box.

Five states — Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada — have initiatives to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. Four states — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota — have proposed legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. All of the recreational use initiatives are currently ahead in the polls.

The Nov. 8 election can't come quickly enough for some people -- especially for supporters of California's recreational marijuana legalization initiative, Prop 64.

Using cannabis with your friends is safer and more desirable than solo use, yet modern legalization offers no public bars for weed smokers.

It’s time to legalize weed lounges, says Cannabis Now magazine content editor Ellen Holland, who delves into the issue in a new perspective piece for popular, influential San Francisco podcast, The Hash, Wednesday.

Legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Washington DC did not include the rights to assemble in public and enjoy the herb.