HEMP AND BLOCKCHAIN: The new "Seed-to-Shelf" tracking tool

Cryptocurrencies and Cannabis have similar aspects: booming sectors that have suffered and are suffering from regulatory gaps. Until not too long ago there was concern about Cannabis consumption and cryptocurrency adoption, but in recent years public perception of each has become more widespread.

Needless to say, how much the "crypto-Cannabis world" is in turmoil and evolving very quickly.

While cryptocurrency is the most well-known application, blockchain technology - immutable, peer-reviewed information - has applications far beyond cryptocurrency alone.

As a result, it has the potential to be applicable to regulated industries that rely on maintaining trust throughout the supply chain, such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco. 

Not surprisingly, then, it has the potential to be valuable in the hemp market, from cultivation to finished product.

Blockchain has interesting potential applications for responsible hemp regulation, with the most interesting new feature of this technology being the ability to use cryptocurrency blockchains for tracking from seed to processed product, as well as recording other information inherent to the same.

What is the Blockchain?

The Blockchain is an immutable digital ledger, a chain containing blocks of information stored on servers that can never be overwritten, only added to previous blocks. This chain must be verifiable by verified peers. 

How does it work?

When a new transaction is made that relies on writing to the blockchain, the transaction is written by the peer that the person making the transaction is closest to. Then, that transaction must be verified by at least one other peer. This process varies greatly by application, but it is critical to allow the technology to call itself blockchain.

This critical peer review process is why blockchain has become nearly synonymous with cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency uses the blockchain and the peer review process to create a crowd-sourced review of currency transactions.

For a government entity that would require the blockchain for compliance and define its parameters, the blockchain would do a great job of ensuring proper and auditable compliance. 

For the pharmaceutical industry, blockchain can help securely and reliably integrate hemp, providing quality assurance and control that spans the entire supply chain. Through a secure central database that tracks potency, THC, CBD levels, and most importantly, variations between batches. 

With such a comprehensive source of tracking and data, consumers can be assured of the characteristics of a product, whether it's seeds, flowers, oils or extracts, and regulators can feel confident in creating legislation that reflects the security that can only be provided by blockchain technology.

A blockchain Cannabis database created on a secure structure benefits end customers, the pharmaceutical and hospital industry, regulators, and entrepreneurs by improving the accessibility and efficacy of Cannabis. Blockchain ensures the safety and value of this plant and its derivatives.

The benefits of blockchain

What sets blockchain apart from other recording software, making it an ideal solution, is the information entered into the blockchain, which is assigned an unbreakable cryptographic signature called a hash. This hash cannot be tampered with, altered or disguised, nor can the information the hash represents be altered without permission, making all information entrusted to the blockchain armored, with a unique signature to keep it traceable under all circumstances.

The blockchain is duplicated and distributed across all participating systems in the network, requiring all interested parties to confirm any changes made to their part of the ledger. As a result, the blockchain is an extremely secure tracking system that is immune to both tampering and accidents, offering any project unprecedented traceability, redundancy, and transparency.

No other means of tracking information offers the same kind of continuity coupled with data security and transparency.

Blockchain for Cannabis

The implementation of decentralized applications to enable the recording and tracking of Cannabis strains from seed to final product, combining IOT (Internet of Things) and blockchain technology. 

On this front we find companies like Medicinal Genomics that using the tool (OP-RETURN) of the Bitcoin network is tracking the evolutionary history of Cannabis genetics through a rigorous and scientific method of classification and labeling of the different genotypes that from time to time are submitted to their attention by genetic breeders scattered around the globe.

Still on the front of seed to sale traceability, another case is that of the company Paragon which is working to create a blockchain reference for the Cannabusiness market capable of offering maximum transparency with regard to the process of tracking the product throughout the production chain.

The Cannabinoid Association of the Netherlands unveiled a blockchain-based CBD tracker to allow customers to trace a product's journey from seed to sale.

Cannabidiol consumers concerned about the quality of their product in the EU can now track the plant's journey from when it was first planted in the fields to when it was sold in retail stores.

The seed-to-sale concept is not limited to CBD organizations in Europe. StrainSecure, a similar blockchain-based Cannabis tracker based in North America, announced in January that it would provide DNA-based validation of medical Cannabis products. Cannabis is legal in Canada for both recreational and medicinal purposes, but legality in the United States varies from state to state.

Uruguay, the first country in the world to fully legalize the production and sale of Cannabis, was also one of the first countries with a supply chain tracker using blockchain Aeternity.

Connected article:

Hemp Cultivation: the know-how necessary to start a successful production

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