Regarding the recent legalization of cannabis in Canada, the country has become somewhat of a test patient in which the rest of the world is carefully analyzing.

People want to look at the hard facts rather than subjective information, and Canada has provided, through experience, the best processes and lessons learned. With the cannabis industry continuing to grow and evolve, the absence of big data can significantly impact consumers, distributors, manufacturers, and so much more.

Although there are plentiful amounts of anecdotal data regarding cannabis, the industry must seek standardization in order to achieve both data integrity and reliability. For companies looking to adapt and change in accordance with the trends within their industry, EVAMAX can assist you in identifying the benefits your business is potentially eligible for.

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Standardizing data sets in the cannabis industry can be a challenge, especially for third-party physicians and cannabis clinics. Unlike the rest of the medical sector, cannabis has not yet achieved a method that ensures consistency and accuracy when analyzing data. Outcome data reported through consumers only matches real-world criteria with consumer choices, which is not exhaustive of everything in the cannabis industry.

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Data collection should not only be focused on when the cannabis is prescribed but should act as a platform for consumers to learn from the experiences of others. Players in the cannabis industry should look to track data throughout the patient’s experience, ranging from the actual purchase to user behavior.

The key to data reliability and integrity would be for major companies to unify their clinics and begin using a consistent process for clinical trials. Clinical trials should be a stage by stage process in which the safety and efficacy of the drug are tested. Blind testing and post-drug approval findings should also be analyzed to ensure big data is standardized.

The introduction of clinical research is the greatest barrier to any market, not solely the cannabis industry, as it acts as a bottleneck for people who do not see marijuana as a norm yet.

Related: Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP)

In order for big data to be accurate and standardized, the key pillars of high volume, high velocity, and high variety are needed. Companies must be able to track data throughout the user’s experience to properly identify who their end-customer is. This is where technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) can be very useful as predictive analytics can determine what consumers are interested and disinterested in.

For example, cannabis products such as topicals, oils, and edibles appear to gain slightly more interest compared to strains themselves. AI can then use machine learning to analyze and observe consumer patterns in order to determine what people prefer in accordance to their lifestyle.

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Despite the growing interest and development in the cannabis industry, there is still plenty of room to expand and evolve. Taking the next steps to unify centralized big data platforms and create standardized processes will advance the industry significantly. Cannabis must be treated and regulated the same way as other medications in order to become a social norm.