Blockchain has the potential to be the ideal mechanism in which regulatory bodies can capture the history of cannabis through the entire supply chain, ultimately ensuring consumer safety and product quality control. By using the immutable ledger that blockchain offers, consumers and operators will have vital information about the product they are dealing with – from seeds, water quality, and fertilizer used, to patient ID’s and doctor certificates. This means less separation between producers, growers, labs, dispensaries, and consumers.

In 2018, progress has already been made in integrating blockchain solutions across the global cannabis supply chain spectrum. One major initiative called CannaChain Technologies, directed by Canadian cannabis giant EmeraldHealth, is already generating market buzz with the establishment of a simplified e-commerce marketplace backed by verifiable seed-to-sale data of any one cannabis strain on the platform.  Other projects, like Budbo and Paragon, each use ICOs as a method to incentivize proper compliance and strong community governance in creating a foolproof and trustless digital audit trail for a number of stakeholders including end customers, suppliers, farmers and regulators. There are even calls for projects like Blockstrain, studies founded with the intention of creating an academic “genomic library” for every cross of cannabis strain.

Image Source: BudLife