The meteoric rise of Colorado’s cannabis industry being worth over $1 billion dollars isn’t as shocking as it sounds. After all, over 60% of Americans believe it should be legal, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the industry has flourished in such a short time of existence. Even with our volatile political climate surrounding the enforcement of federal marijuana laws, investors are still banking on the eventual long-term legalization of both recreational and medical cannabis. However, not everyone has that same financial runway, leaving the industry in a short-term whirlwind on what could happen next.
Despite the chaos, Colorado’s cannabis industry is still at the start of an exciting time. Innovations are springing up both directly in the industry and as tools to serve it, which (if the long-term strategies of investors pay off), could bring along the second coming of Silicon Valley. And as history has taught us time and time again, periods of disarray can pave the way for discovery.
‘Catching Contact’
First, let’s look at the ways ingesting cannabis has changed. After all, we’ve come a long way from the days of smoking joint after joint until you ‘catch contact.’ It’s true that overall potency has increased, but now the variety of ways we can get high vary tremendously. Nowadays there are gummy bears, chocolate bars, concentrates, juices, cold-pressed coffees...the list goes on and on.
Part of creating such a cornucopia of cannabis was the benefit in making it easier for medical patients to receive a correct dosage, as well as avoid smoking. However, now with recreation in play, edibles have become somewhat of a novelty.
“We’ve definitely seen a lot of tourists come in and ask for them, but they’re a pretty popular choice with regulars too.” the folks at Green Dragon noted, a cannabis company headquartered out of Aurora, CO.
“Because it’s discreet, people can pop them in whenever they want. They love it.” another employee added.
And while innovations in how we ingest weed have increased, so have the ways we grow and produce it.
Let It Grow
If you take a look at Leafly’s 2017 Hottest Cannabis Technology Innovations, all of the winners were involved in either the growing or extraction process. Some have even been noted for taking previous techniques for one form (I.E. Concentrates) and applying it to another (oils and fragrances).
With new growing and production practices, it’s become much easier and cheaper to become a distributor. Although the upstart cost (as well as the factors of legal trouble and being robbed in a cash-only business) are a risk, the rewards could be exponential. More, the demand has gotten so high that there’s now training institutes and schools to hire skilled growers and technicians.
While the want for weed (both legally and illegally) isn’t going away anytime soon, new production methods have started to form niche products to keep up, which for your typical ‘flower’ fan, prices are dropping dramatically.
Competition at Its Finest
It’s now cheaper to buy quality weed more than anytime before since production is outpacing legal demand. This plays a huge role in the illegal out of state markets, where marijuana is being distributed. Although not directly being supplied by legal distributors, they stand to have a huge benefit given their ability to produce a wider array of products. Plus, traditional tech companies have started to play a significant role in the selling process as well.
(High) Tech Innovations
One of the biggest factors in progress with Colorado’s marijuana industry is the technology surrounding it. After all, federal law prohibits banks from working with the cannabis industry, which also hinders their ability to use payroll software and newer POS systems, amongst other business needs. However, there’s been a few companies that have gone against the grain in creating entirely new methodologies.
Flowhub, a POS systems company based out of Denver is already ahead of the curve regarding not only their products but creating software that’s compliant with current state-level regulations. There’s also Mass Roots, which has been proclaimed as “The Grub Hub for marijuana,” as well as provides an array of content surrounding the culture and industry.
While other cannabis-based tech outside of Colorado has been making some amazing stuff as well, the entire industry is at the forefront of creating some major changes in agriculture and technology, as well as how the two can work hand-in-hand.
It’s been said that we’re in ‘the wild west of weed’, and no matter if you consider yourself of a sheriff, cowboy, or outlaw...everyone is about to be a part of the next big thing.