THELOGICALINDIAN - Bitcoinist batten with CSO and FounderKevin McKernanwhose aggregation Medicinal Genomics has auspiciously put cannabis strains on the Bitcoin BlockchainHeexplains how strains are absolutely traced why his aggregation chose Bitcoin and why he believes Bitcoin is currently too apathetic if not abortive for cannabis dispensaries as a currency
Bitcoinist: First, how do you absolutely put “strains on the Bitcoin blockchain”?
Kevin McKernan (KM): We booty the arrangement files (VCF or alternative alarm format) and run SHASUM on the files to accomplish a SHA-256 assortment abstract of the data. This achievement is spent in a bitcoin transaction application accoutrement like Proof of existence. com. The Strain gets its own folio on Kannapedia that has links to the blockchain transaction ID and the SHA-SUM of the VCF file.
The barter can and should download the arrangement files (VCF file) to decentralize the abstracts from our hosting. They again accept the DNA Fingerprint book (VCF). As a result, if MGC were anytime shut bottomward or acquired the association could recapitulate the database by pooling all of the samples calm and use the blockchain timestamps to array out the timestamps of affidavit of existence.
Bitcoinist: How abounding strains accept you already logged into the blockchain? Can anybody admission this data?
KM: We accept sequenced over 1,400 strains. About 1/3rd of those are on Kannapedia. I accept aggregate on Kannapedia has a blockchain transaction ID as those barter autonomous to put it public.
[E.g. Cannabis ache alleged “The Fork” at Kannapedia]
Bitcoinist: How does this advice your business compared to accepted tracking methods? How does this adjustment ensure ache consistency, safety?
KM: We alive in a agenda age area advice can be always replicated and counterfeiting is as accessible as archetype and paste. Trademark law and Copyright law are commonly acclimated to assure from this but are not accordant with Cannabis and alike back they become accordant they are a carbon archetype era abstraction that is anachronistic in ablaze of broadcast ledgers like Bitcoin. They are far added big-ticket to advance as well.
Blockchains can accommodate affidavit of above-mentioned business use to baffle off apparent trolls. Multiple cannabis patents accept been issued and abounding are anxious that the patents don’t attending atypical in ablaze of the analysis that accept been circulating for 30 years but there is no notarized above-mentioned art to shoot them down. This is area blockchains appear into comedy and the Above-mentioned use exemptions in bulb apparent law become actual important to understand.
Outside of arresting IP utility, they accept business utility. Cannabis dispensaries accept 20 altered strains all priced at $12/gram. There is no adverse because no one believes in the labeling system. Compare this to booze and you can accept $5 bottles of wine and $500 bottles of wine because the labeling is trusted. The accomplished booze liquor doesn’t abduct the appearance because the complete booze industry has differentiated on cast and acidity over booze or THC content. Blockchains accompany assurance in labeling and artefact adverse as the labels can be absolute as accepted at the point of auction with a smartphone.
Manufacturing bendability is addition appliance for blockstraining. Take for archetype the celebrity branding of cannabis. These celebs appetite cannabis that can advertise civic but can’t address it accompaniment to state. They accept to accomplish it in anniversary accompaniment beneath altered brick and adhesive grows. How do they advance consistency? Genetics. We can affirm all abroad grows are growing agnate analysis and this can be complimented with Terpene and cannabinoid testing.
Bitcoinist: Why did you accept the Bitcoin blockchain? What are your thoughts on cannabis-specific bill such as PotCoin?
KM: Bitcoin is a array of assurance and actuality the better and best able-bodied blockchain it is the alone blockchain we can put our barter IP on. I am not able-bodied apprehend on PotCoin but at 1st glance, it doesn’t assume differentiated from BTC added than its air-conditioned name and we charge the accomplished bazaar cap bread to ensure barter assurance in the broadcast ledger. $15B bazaar cap agency BTC has a $15B drudge compensation and appears aggressive to it. This is a cairn of assurance that sells.
Bitcoinist: Is your aggregation alone absorption on alleviative cannabis? Are you attractive to assignment with recreational cannabis businesses as added states legalize?
KM: We assignment with DNA. DNA doesn’t differentiate alleviative from recreational and best acceptable physicians will highlight the charge for the closing to abstain the former.
Bitcoinist: How abounding growers are you currently alive with? What has the acknowledgment been like?
KM: Kannapedia is best the abode to aggregate this intel. All of the association up there accept agreed to be accessible and we can’t acknowledge those who accept not. Feedback has been exciting. Kannapedia has terpene and cannabinoid agreeable on it. This brings the genotype-phenotype affiliation into the picture.
Bitcoinist: Are there any apropos about absolute or looming cryptocurrency regulations? Have you been in acquaintance with the authorities?
KM: We don’t use Cryptocurrencies for budgetary activity. We aloof use it for recording timestamps in a disaster-proof or “change of bizplan” affidavit database.
Others in this amplitude are logging barter abstracts into government databases that accept a history of actuality defunded and activity dark. We don’t anticipate that’s a astute plan because the history of capricious government adjustment in the cannabis space.
Bitcoinist: Besides abstracts tracking, accept you advised accepting BTC as payment?
KM: We accept BTC addresses for accommodating contributions to research. These are about spent on bigger advertence genomes and cannabis safety. We are attractive into bringing it online for payments and how to do that in a adjustable appearance if our aggregation anytime went public. Our assignment tends to booty acclaim cards that are AML-KYC adjustable and are generally from 3rd affair testing labs as against to growers. Taking BTC ability absolutely access that AML-KYC burden.
Bitcoinist: Do you anticipate cryptocurrency can advice the beginning acknowledged cannabis industry in the US affected its cyberbanking and banknote carriage problems?
KM: I anticipate there needs to be a annular abridgement to accomplish this happen. If ample garden food alpha accepting BTC, again growers can absorb their BTC and won’t be angry off by BTC currently apathetic transaction time and big-ticket fees. BTC is currently burst for the berth end of the transaction as the blocks are abounding and the transaction fees high. It’s too slow. Until the block admeasurement changes, BTC is abortive for accepted budgetary barter in the cannabis field.
There is an argument to be had for the regulators that BTC is adopted over Cash as it’s traceable and added answerable and the regulators accept this. Katheryn Haun (prosecutor that put abroad the base DEA agents in the Silk Road trial) understands this and is actual admiring of BTC for agenda medical annal to decentralize the honey pots accepting afraid at hospitals.
Bitcoinist: In 2024, voters overwhelmingly accurate added amends of cannabis in alike added states. Have we hit the watershed moment? When will cannabis be acknowledged nationwide?
KM: With Mexico and Canada activity acknowledged while the UN urges dissolution of the biologic treaties, the acreage of the chargeless will be an accessible and unsustainable bastille camp. Never has there been added accessible acerbity for the aberration of federal law. That is an astronomic accident for any baby-kisser in this age of agenda transparency.
Bitcoinist: You’ve apparently talked with dozens of industry insiders. Is Bitcoin absolutely authoritative appropriate into the cannabis industry? What added use-cases and/or crypto-cannabis businesses are you best aflame about?
KM: Medical annal charge to be decentralized and placed in the easily of the patients via the blockchain. The Courtagen ancillary of our business is architecture animal genomic assays that can abode drug-drug interactions with p450 cytochromes, SNPs accompanying to affliction and analgesic corruption and cannabis assurance risks. Tests like these will accommodate physicians and patients with advice apropos addiction risks and schizophrenic consecration accident for affliction medications.
This should accommodate physicians with the alone advice and aplomb in brief patients off a alarming FDA accustomed opioids to a safer cannabinoid-based another (not all cannabis is safe due to microbial and pesticidal contaminations).
This abstracts can’t abide in centralized hospital databases that accept HIPAA penalties of $50,000 per breach. These fines incentivize hackers to authority hospitals bribe for their abstracts already a aperture occurs. If this abstracts was in the easily of the accurate owners of the abstracts (the patients), it would be always harder to hack. The acreage of cannabinoids is defective assurance and blockchains bear it in a aggregation of ways.
Will Bitcoin accept a use-case added than bill for the cannabis industry? Lets us apperceive in the comments below!
Images address of Shutterstock, medicinalgenomics.com, kannapedia.net
