In a first, Microsoft will aid a company that makes software for the cannabis industry in the United States, to help state and local officials track marijuana sales.

This is a considered a big boost for the pro-marijuana movement worldwide as Microsoft is the first large corporate to play a role in the legal trade of cannabis.

“We’re psyched to see a major company like Microsoft jump into this space. It’s only going to encourage other companies to do it..At this point, it would be imprudent not to figure out how or where your company would profit from the emergent cannabis space," St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, a nonprofit advocating for marijuana law reform, told The Huffington Post on Friday.   

The New York Times reported:

So far, only a handful of smaller banks are willing to offer accounts to companies that grow or sell marijuana, and Microsoft will not be touching that part of the business. But the company's entry into the government compliance side of the business suggests the beginning of a legitimate infrastructure for an industry that has been growing fast and attracting lots of attention, both good and bad.