Since cannabis has become legal for recreational and medical purposes across parts of North America, more and more attention is being paid to the innovations driving the cannabis industry in the twenty-first century.
For investors and tech developers alike, one of the most interesting developments in cannabis production has been the introduction of cutting-edge solutions designed to make cultivation, processing, and sales safe and more streamlined.
Cannabis producers face a number of challenges in cultivating their products and bringing them to market. For example, producers must ensure that they are:
All of this requires a great deal of data, logistics, and good old-fashioned hard work, and it means that most cannabis production operations are quite technologically sophisticated. But in recent years, one particular innovation has shown itself to be absolutely indispensable for any cannabis production company looking to turn a profit.
In most places where cannabis has been legalized (Canada being the most prominent example), the law stipulates that producers must track every cannabis plant they cultivate from seed to sale.
This means that a cannabis production company needs to keep tabs on every single plant it grows and must be able to demonstrate to regulators’ satisfaction that they have complied with government requirements.
This has given rise to a new kind of cannabis software — the cannabis seed to sale platform — which allows producers to quickly and easily track, store, and retrieve large amounts of data about every leaf they grow.
These platforms use a number of different technologies, but the most popular incorporate wireless scanners and barcodes to make real-time data entry possible under any conditions.
Of course, cannabis producers have to do a lot more than simply track their plants and generate reports for government regulators: they also need to keep tabs on quality control, handle e-commerce, and ensure they can handle a product recall.
One of the things that next-generation cannabis platforms are doing is integrating a wide range of different services into a single, easy-to-use solution, which gives producers an unparalleled ability to monitor the entire lifecycle of each of their products.
Integrated platforms also make it easier for producers to contact consumers directly. Should it be discovered that a batch of cannabis needs to be recalled, integrated software allows producers to contact everyone who received products from this batch directly, making it easier to ensure that customers can be contacted before they use the product.
The days when cannabis was cultivated in backwoods lots and dingy basements are long gone, and cannabis production is now a high-tech business.
Modern software has not only made cannabis safer for consumers and more profitable for producers, but it has also contributed to the legalization of cannabis being a net gain for everyone.