When the world first heard about blockchain, a trendy digital ledger system that conjures cryptocurrencies and millions of unbreakable securities, markets lost their collective minds. An important figure in the blockchain revolution is VeChain. VeChain Technologies were founded in 2015 and are a leading, business-friendly blockchain company that aims to connect blockchain technology to the real world and provide companies with blockchain-enabled solutions that meet their business needs. The company offers VeChain ToolChain™, a low-code blockchain-based SaaS platform that enables enterprise customers to build digital transformation enabling the development of a trust-free distributed ecosystem.

VeChain’s Connection to the Cannabis Industry

VeChain is a kind of blockchain platform designed to streamline logistics and processes for companies. The program is built with specific protocols to incorporate inventory management. VeChain's blockchain is prominently applicable to a variety of industries, especially those with perishable goods. One industry with heavy ties to the blockchain is the cannabis industry. Blockchain technology has been implemented in a number of functions within the ecosystem of this rapidly growing market. From Crypto ATMs popping up in dispensaries to transactions being made over the blockchain ledger, cannabis and cryptocurrency seem to grow further intertwined. Blockchain technology provides cannabis consumers with additional security, keeps the industry to agreed standards, and provides an expanded window into product history, including cultivation, harvesting, processing, and logistics.

Why VeChain is Such an Ideal Fit for Cannabis

VeChain is a blockchain platform that is particularly promising for the cannabis industry. This is a kind of blockchain platform to improve logistics processes and services. Because VeChain offers the benefits of blockchain technology, it focuses on making global product distribution more reliable. An example of a practical application of VeChain is their "seed tracking" protocol. While this tool is not solely used in just the cannabis space it’s application in the industry can be used to verify the strain, the day it was harvested, when it was packaged, and so much more information. Products can be tracked and verified by farmers and laboratories from seed to harvest. This is a substantially better system order to prove the authenticity of products, and can help to combat the growing issue of counterfeit products entering dispensaries. A growing trend among consumers in the cannabis industry is the want for verified products. While some cannabis directories like Weedmaps have integrated a verification system, it is solely based on producers and shops filling out forms validating their products with little to no confirmation. The cannabis industry is in dire need of a system where product information, batch numbers, and testing results can be viewed on one trusted platform. This is where VeChain can really change the way consumers are able to shop for their cannabis.

A Strong Need for Accountability

Lab testing presents a further issue with verification in the cannabis industry. In late 2018, the California Bureau of Cannabis found a myriad of tainted products ranging from molded flower to cartridges with significant traces of heavy metals, mycotoxins, and vitamin E acetate throughout the state's legal cannabis market. From their investigation, it appeared that all of these products were tested but results were manipulated in order to allow for their release. While many of these testing facilities faced little to no penalties as the bureau could only trace results so far back, California made substantial changes to their testing procedures. Since then California has enforced strict guidelines on the acceptable levels of contaminants in cannabis products. There are still many flaws with the way the data is recorded as well as an ongoing discussion of the true acceptable levels of contaminants. This is a looming issue that implementing VeChain technologies can help to resolve.

Forcing producers, testers, and shops to record products through VeChain seed tracking will go a long way to ensure authentic and safe products reach the market while also keeping all parties accountable. While VeChain’s applications far outgrow just the cannabis industry, its applications with Cannabis are very promising especially in the sense of creating a well regulated, verified, and ultimately safer legal market. As cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies continue to be more universally adopted, transactions will forever change.