THELOGICALINDIAN - n-a
Cryptocurrency and cannabis are two of the best agitative arising industries in avant-garde times. Both are connected capacity of altercation in media and backroom on national, state, and bounded levels. We covered several aspects of the cannabis industry and crypto’s blooming rush, but best of it is candidly little added than kitsch value.
Hempcoin is one of the only applicable cannabis crypto projects that anesthetized beyond our alarm so far. Many, like Alt Thirty Six, are focused on crypto payments in cannabis. Because it’s a mostly cash-only industry (many dispensaries and commitment casework about the country acquire ample out means to acquire agenda payments), cannabis seems accomplished for disruption from cryptocurrency.
The blockchain is area the accurate amount lies in cannabis, though. Supply chains are atrocious for blockchain technology, and it’s no added credible than in the acknowledged medical and recreational cannabis industry. Seed-to-sale tracking is mandatory, and anniversary accompaniment has altered requirements and a altered arrangement of record.
Crypto payments are as arid to pot dispensaries as they are to gas stations, grocery stores, and realtors for the best part. But the cannabis accumulation alternation can calmly be disrupted by the appropriate blockchain if they comedy their cards right.
Here’s how.
Why Crypto Isn’t High on Pot’s Mind
The affairs point for a crypto bread like Potcoin is that cannabis-based businesses can’t use cyberbanking services. This is somewhat true: FDIC-insured institutions can’t do business with cannabusinesses until it’s federal, rescheduled and decriminalized.
Still, the Department of the Treasury larboard things open-ended for banks to accessible accounts, and cannabis-based businesses accept continued begin means to accord with banknote overflow problems. Financing and payments artlessly aren’t ambrosial to retailers at the moment – cannabis retailers are no different.
These businesses are awful scrutinized by federal, state, and bounded authorities and regulators, and the aftermost affair they charge to do is action with their money. Besides, alone well-funded projects are able to alpha up these days.
In California’s afresh legalized recreational market, it costs about $500,000 aloof for licensing fees and startup costs. These become anniversary fees, and that’s not alike including taxes and archetypal aerial and business expenses. It’s a massive hurdle that serves as a banking attendant to all but firms with clamminess to gamble.
And it is a action – California raked in over $2.75 billion in cannabis sales to date, but businesses accident actuality shut bottomward or raided afterwards Jeff Sessions ordered the Department of Justice to avoid Obama-era guidelines – which had about accomplished Federal aggravation of the marijuana industry, except in cases of artery commerce, organized crime, and auction to minors.
Doing business with the crypto industry, which is heavily scrutinized by regulators itself, seems like abacus ammunition to the fire. High Times alike canceled an accomplishment to use Bitcoin in its IPO: one can alone brainstorm on how new voicers like Marijuana Business Daily, Dope, and Cannabis Now will appearance the High Times accommodation to abstain the crypto route.
The Cannabis Supply Blockchain Saves the Day
The absolute affliction point that blockchain can boldness for the cannabis industry is in the seed-to-sale tracking. What’s currently accident in anniversary accompaniment that legalizes medical and recreational cannabis is one account tracking arrangement becomes the state’s official arrangement of record. In abounding states like California, Nevada, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado, MetRC by Franwell the adopted SoR.
California faces massive delays until at atomic November in its abounding tracking arrangement because implementing MetRC is harder than it sounds. Every distinct artefact charge be tagged as seeds, plants, harvested, extracted, etc. Even the accommodating is tracked.
If you’ve never apparent a acknowledged cannabis label, here’s one from Arizona’s medical marijuana program. It’s for a Thai stick.
Everything is scanned and traced so the accompaniment can see the abounding adventure of every artefact from actuality buried to bought by the end-user. In DIY states like Oregon, seeing the abounding farm-to-table activity aeon of every additive in aggregate is coveted. If you don’t do it right, they’ll aloof abound and accomplish their own.
In Nevada, testing is amid the best in the country. This agency every accumulation from every grower, producer, and berth has to be activated for abundant metals, pesticides, mold, and added contaminates, forth with authority levels. Labeling and testing requirements get strict, and appointment abstracts from the dispensary’s centralized point-of-sale arrangement to the state’s SoR has a lot of affective parts.
This is area the blockchain could calmly fix the cannabis industry. By adhering the codes and labels already actuality traced, the advice is easier to store, archive, and search. Compliance and abstracts transfers amid accountant businesses and government agencies would be abundantly improved.
But, as with aggregate government, there’s a caveat.
The One Problem in the Way of Marijuana Blockchain Adoption
Aside from the actuality that cipher except Hempcoin is absolutely focused on application the blockchain for the cannabis accumulation chain, the added botheration is anniversary accompaniment has affairs in abode with a accurate account provider.
To achieve this accomplishment of allowance the cannabis industry, you would charge to accept a feel on the beating of back federal legislators are accommodating to approve it. At this point, you could angle the blockchain on the federal akin adjoin all the companies like Franwell authoritative legacy-based systems.
Instead of publicity stunts like sending Dennis Rodman to North Korea or throwing a broken-down pot blade on a crypto, that’s area the absolute money is to be fabricated in the cannabis industry.
Every cannabis administrator is up to their aerial in pitches from businesses aggravating to booty a allotment of their pie. You won’t win them over unless you can accurately boldness their problems…even if you accept to go over their active to do it.
The columnist is not currently invested in any cryptocurrency mentioned here. He has, however, contributed to High Times annual and does backpack a medical marijuana agenda in the accompaniment of Arizona.
