There has been a lot of progress towards the legalization of marijuana in North America. Currently, there are 29 states and one district in the USA that has decriminalized and/or legalized marijuana either for recreational or medicinal use. Where Canada aims to be the first industrialized country to legalize marijuana from production to consumption by July 2018, to date however, there isn’t a solid plan or technology in place that is able to manage A-Z for both producers and consumers alike.

Financial obstacles with banks hesitant to accept cannabis money, and advertising restrictions leaves little room to manoeuvre. At the same time, cryptocurrency, an evolution in digital transactions seems to be the logical answer.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology has gained traction in a short amount of time, and is making headlines daily with the incredible rate at which it is growing. Industries and governments are being faced with the dilemma of either adopting the technology or being left behind, but are cautiously open to the endless possibilities that it brings.

Innovation in supply chain technology is something that blockchain is already implementing. Tracking products in a way that information cannot be altered is essential in all industries, but especially when implementing legality behind the legalization of marijuana.

In Canada, the British Columbia government is actively looking at blockchain as a solution to managing the legalization of marijuana. Blockchain technology, as it is decentralized, would help decrease the chances of a cyber attack, and increase security and transparency in a major way. Additionally it can be used to secure all types of financial transactions, increasing security and safety of everyone involved.

There are a lot of opportunities, and innovative ideas that can help regulate the cannabis industry. The Canadian government is actively looking at how blockchain technology can effectively do that.

One such idea has been developed by a Canadian based company that aims to provide solutions to the main financial, advertising and loyalty obstacles and challenges that the cannabis industry faces not only in North America, but worldwide. The company is doing an ICO and is developing a utility token called PerksCoin (PCT) that would run on decentralized blockchain technology and will be able to be used not only for transactional purposes but also as a loyalty program. The company has already partnered with 5 companies; 3 of which provide POS solutions to retailers, and one of which plans to have 200,000 locations using their POS globally by 2020 – with over 100 million users per year. If this occurs, then that means that PerksCoin will have 100 million users per year.

“We see a real opportunity here to harmonize these industries together and create a viable solution for everyone involved. However, our token won’t be limited to just the cannabis industry, it will be used in many different industries. Through proper strategic partnerships, our token will be used on almost every continent” – Oleg Cheine, CEO CannaSOS

While crypto technology is still in its infancy, there are remarkable opportunities that governments should explore when implementing the processes involved in the legalization of marijuana. CannaSOS is an example of forward thinking, using evolving technology and addressing the challenges faced by both producers and consumers and implementing a solution that everyone can have access to.

Regulations for both the legalization of cannabis, as well as cryptocurrency are still being decided, however now is the time to make a monumental global change, and shift in the right direction. With blockchain technology anything is possible.