Although the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes has already been legalized in Canada, the Canadian Cannabis Industry still exhibits the characteristics of an emerging industry. It, therefore, faces challenges at various levels. One of the most prevalent malpractices in this business is the diversion of legally produced cannabis to the black market. According to a Reuters report, the Canadian Cannabis black market is estimated to be worth between C$7 billion and C$10 billion a year.

This staggering amount is a major loss to the legalized cannabis industry in Canada. To add to that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s efforts to decriminalize the use and sale of marijuana for recreational purposes is likely to come into effect in 2018. The implications of this would translate to fluctuating selling prices, bumpy stock rates and difficulty in tracking products in the value chain.

With this background, the need for seed-to-sale traceability system has become inevitable. Pharmaceutical label printers, RFID tracking software, and barcode technology are potent tools that can enable enhanced traceability. Our main focus today is to understand how good traceability solutions can ensure the growth of your cannabis business:

1. Prevents Illegal Sale of Cannabis Products

With efficient tracking practices, you will be able to track your marijuana product throughout the supply chain. For example, if you own a nursery, you will be able to track your plant from the time it grows until the time it gets cultivated, transformed into a finished product and sold to the wholesaler or dispensary or the end consumer. When a systematic tracking system is in place, there would be fewer instances of cannabis products like buds, medical cannabis concentrates and CBD edibles reaching unintended markets.

2. Optimizes Inventory Management

According to an article in the journal, Medical Marijuana: A Canadian Industry to grow, medical marijuana is sold to more than 50,000 patients every year. And, this number is estimated to rise ninefold by 2020. With this rise in demand, industry players will strive to increase their production of cannabis products rapidly. This will result in a spike in the total number of units produced and inventory management for such high numbers could be a challenge. The use of pharmaceutical printers and other advanced barcode technology products can help optimize inventory management significantly.

3. Ensures The Cannabis Product Reaches The Right Person

A few of the biggest problems associated with tightly regulated products such as medicinal marijuana is the risk of smuggling and the risk of the product reaching the wrong entity. In Canada, the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations has certain guidelines regarding the sale of medicinal marijuana and the act defines who can purchase it. At this time, the mandate only allows people with distinct medical issues and a credible subscription to purchase and use legal cannabis products. Traceability solutions like RFID tracking, desktop pharmaceutical printers, and barcoding technology can effectively track the cannabis product and ensure that it reaches the right person.

4. Easier recall

In a tightly regulated industry, contamination of raw materials or poisoning of finished products is a rare scenario. But, if such an unfortunate incident occurs, effective traceability systems will help in the easier recall of the batch of contaminated products. An example of this can be noted in the event of 2016 when a flour processor recalled 4.5 million kilograms of flour that was linked to an outbreak of E. coli.

Hence, the use of traceability solutions is crucial for the growth of your cannabis business. It is the technological safety glove your business needs.

Jet Marking Systems provides traceability solutions that can help in the cannabis industry. From thermal barcode printers to RFID systems, we provide a broad combination of services which enables you to track your products right from your place of production or sale. Contact our experts to learn more about traceability for the legal cannabis industry.

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