Snoop Dogg invests in delivery start-up that can deliver marijuana in 15 minutes

The rapper's investment vehicle, Casa Verde, was one of several venture capital firms that confirmed it had contributed towards a $10m investment in Eaze

Entrepreneurs, private investors, academic researchers and, most importantly, voters all seem to share the same opinion – that legalisation in some form is likely across the country (Getty Images)

Federal law may still prohibit its use and tech giants such as Google and Apple are still resisting its allure, but the market for marijuana in the United States is hot.

Entrepreneurs, private investors, academic researchers and, most importantly, voters all seem to share the same opinion – that legalisation in some form is likely across the country.

Opponents of legalisation must feel like they are fighting a losing battle. Hardly a day goes by without some form of good news for supporters of marijuana legalisation in the US, whether it is for medical or personal use.

Eaze is a San Francisco-based start-up that can deliver medicinal marijuana in 15 minutes to patients in states where it is legal

This week, two polls - one in Colorado and one in Virginia - strongly backed legalisation – continued legalisation in the former, proposed legalisation in the latter. A new study published by the American Academy of Neurology backed the use of marijuana extract to treat severe juvenile epilepsy. Even the media is getting on the act - both the Denver Post and San Francisco Chronicle now employ pot critics.

Perhaps not surprisingly, several well-known marijuana users, such as the rapper Snoop Dogg, the country singer Willie Nelson and the family of the late reggae superstar Bob Marley, are all hoping to cash in.

Snoop Dogg’s investment vehicle, Casa Verde, was one of several venture capital firms that confirmed it had contributed towards a $10m (£7m) investment in Eaze, a San Francisco-based start-up that can deliver medicinal marijuana in 15 minutes to patients in states where it is legal.

DCM Ventures, a California-based private equity funding group, has been the primary backer of Eaze. David Chao, a general partner at Eaze, did not hold back on his growth forecasts for the marijuana industry in the US, saying in a statement that he expects the value of the market to reach “$100bn”.

Snoop Dogg’s investment vehicle, Casa Verde, was one of several venture capital firms that confirmed it had contributed towards a m (£7m) investment in Eaze (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Impressive though Eaze’s fundraising may be, it is a long way short of the $75m raised by Privateer earlier this month, the largest private investment in the marijuana industry to date. The company, which has now raised approximately $82m in total funding, operates several marijuana businesses including Marley Naturals and strain review website Leafly. Its backers include Founders Fund, the venture capital investment group started by Peter Thiel, a founder of PayPal and one of the most prominent start-up investors in the United States.

Even as major technology companies remain reluctant to embrace the marijuana market, with Google and Apple not listing Eaze in their app stores, investors appear to have no such qualms. According to research by Inc.com, private investments in medical and recreational marijuana companies grew by 942 per cent in 2014, with the current year already on track to improve significantly on that mark.

With marijuana-related initiatives on ballots across the country in 2016, including in states such as California, Ohio and Michigan, investors will be given plenty more opportunity to support the movement in coming months.