The success of shows such as "Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers" and "Storage Wars" has sent reality-TV producers scrambling to present the oddest and edgiest vocations. The next sectors of the American workforce to hit the spotlight: pot peddlers and makers of backwoods hooch.

"Weed Wars," debuting Thursday on the Discovery Channel, documents the workings of a booming medical-marijuana dispensary in California. Such ventures are legal in the state, but criminal under federal law. The proprietors cope with business stress...