The cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing in the world, and businesses within the sphere are utilising highly modern tech solutions to carry out their activities. One such innovation is blockchain technology. Here’s everything you need to know about the blockchain revolution in the cannabis industry.
What is blockchain?
The first thing that most people think when they hear the word blockchain is cryptocurrency. The two concepts have become synonymous, mainly because the cryptocurrency idea could not work without blockchain technology.
“In essence, blockchain is a system which allows information – digital information – to be distributed – but never copied, so the original source is never compromised, and so a clear record can always be maintained of every activity,”
says Winston Salisbury, a crypto expert analyst at BritStudent and WritemyX.
It isn’t just cryptocurrencies that use it, because this type of technology is integral to safe and transparent activities in all sorts of financial transactions.
But it would be far too nearsighted to consider that blockchain only has a part to play in the financial sector. Indeed, the blockchain revolution is being felt across numerous industries and types of services, from customer care, to healthcare, from governmental practices, to retail.
And the nascent cannabis industry is another sector where blockchain is introducing many changes. In fact, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to suggest that the cannabis industry would not be possible, at least on a large, official scale, without the benefits that blockchain can bring.
The inherent benefits of blockchain
Blockchain is so exciting because it can offer solutions to all sorts of digital problems, such as the need for verification in payments, up to the need to incorporate transaction costs.
Moreover, the information stored within the blockchain is unalterable, which adds a layer of transparency and authenticity to every transaction.
Blockchain and cannabis
The first obvious benefits of using blockchain technology in the cannabis sector is the introduction of transparency and regulation, which is key with a product still surrounded by controversy.
Both financial and government institutions will be able to track the real source of cannabis company services in a much better way. In fact, the supply chain is probably the area in which blockchain contributes the most exciting advancements and which can be felt across all sectors.
“Operations can be streamlined while costs can be controlled, and with the added transparency, the waiting time needed for authentication and regulation can be hugely reduced,”
enthuses Brigid LeBlanc, a tech blogger at Australia2write and NextCoursework.
Quality control is another vital consideration. In a product such a cannabis, where quality can range widely, customers and businesses which use suppliers will want to track all that vital information about the product they are accessing.
A pertinent example of how blockchain technology is already revolutionising the cannabis industry is the development of Potcoin. The method of financial transaction within the cannabis industry has been holding things back, with cash being the favoured system thus far.
This is a major risk, and is impossible to keep track of. Potcoin is a financial platform (that is decentralised) which allows the transfer of funds via digital wallets, from customers to businesses to suppliers. It is officialising the financial transaction method in the industry, all the while using blockchain technology.
The well-publicised business Paragon, the provider of ParagonCoin, is also one of the movers at the forefront of the blockchain revolution within the cannabis industry. As the Paragon website itself states:
“From compliance in cannabis seed-to-sale tracking to a B2B decentralized marketplace and CRM–the Paragon ecosystem will contain modules for cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, testing, alongside company and inventory management, as well as a retail component aimed at increased transparency focusing on awareness for the consumers.”
This is just the tip of the iceberg, as blockchain-generated innovations enter the cannabis sphere on an almost daily basis. This is one sector, among many others, that is likely to feel the full benefits of this incredible advance in digital technology, and perhaps could not scale up without it.
About what other sectors will we be able to say the same thing in the not-too-distant future?
