You knew it was bound to happen eventually, and it’s certainly no surprise that the announcement came out of California. There is an insurance company in Sacramento, California named Statewide Insurance Services that is offering insurance to help pay for your medical needs.

That’s not news, of course. What’s news is that this company is offering to cover the cost of medical marijuana.

The company intends to cover all aspects of the medical marijuana industry, including everything from the actual medical insurance to insurance for the businesses that are involved in the process. They will offer workers compensation for companies involved in growing and dispensing medical marijuana. They will offer auto insurance that covers vehicles used to transport the medical marijuana. They will offer coverage for equipment, property loss and other expenses.

The company is going to offer these insurance products in all 50 states. At present, there are only 14 states that allow the use of medical marijuana. What this means is that, if and when medical marijuana becomes legal in a given state, the company will be ready to step in and provide coverage right away.

There is potentially big business to be had in the insurance covering medical marijuana dispensaries. When California made medical marijuana legal in 1996, dispensaries began to pop up. Today, there are somewhere around 2,000 in the state of California alone. This represents a huge market when extrapolated across the country.

In general, the tide seems to be turning when it comes to medical marijuana. More and more states make the drug legal for medical use. Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced last year that it would stop the arrests on federal charges of growers of marijuana who were operating within the limits of state laws.

Time will tell the whole tale, however. If and when medical marijuana becomes legal in all 50 states, there will likely be more and more debate about even covering the costs with traditional medical insurance.