For many, the Covid-19 pandemic means business has ground to a halt. For the cannabis industry, the opposite is happening.

Demand is increasing as customers find themselves stuck at home, with their medical (and recreational) needs magnified. Sales have increased more than 30 percent for some firms.

At the same time, home delivery has become the norm for our everyday essentials. For the cannabis industry, this means a massive increase in business, in particular online ordering, bringing an even greater need to ensure robust and airtight data security practices.

Cannabis companies now more than ever need to ensure they have their security framework in place and locked tight to manage the intensive growth they are experiencing.

As we wind down the year and get ready for 2020, let’s recap the MJBizCon show in Vegas just less than two weeks ago. Our team was able to spend valuable time with clients, partners, competitors, prospects, and consultants. Now that many of us have a few years under our belt in this industry it’s always great to see familiar faces and continue to build new relationships. 

As our team had a chance to take a breath and debrief, here are the top takeaways from the Flourish team as we get ready to enter 2020! 

It's ALL in the data. Data-driven technology is transforming how we approach business across every industry. With the proper data, businesses can accurately identify problems and react to these problems in real-time to employ solutions faster.

Compliance has many facets to consider in relation to both obtaining and maintaining a license at the state level including application fees, licensing fees, residency requirements, taxation and fines (to scratch the surface). Let's take a closer look at how you can prepare for and manage upcoming licensing fees. 

Cannabis businesses are facing a growing challenge: Compliance. So far, 9 U.S. states have legalized recreational marijuana and 29 U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana. As the cannabis industry continues to grow and mature, however, states are ratcheting up their oversight and expectations, and there is an increasing need for consistency in regard to the quality of the product and the operations that surround it. 

Change is not only coming, it’s already here. In case you’ve missed some key highlights recently while celebrating 4/20, consider this:

In January of 2018 the State of California announced they would be issuing annual licenses within 180 days and within that time the state track and trace system for cannabis, METRC, would be operational. With METRC integration imminent, now is the time to think about how to track plant movement and inventory levels to start reporting the required data back to the state.  The first step you should take is to find a business partner whose software platform will provide value for your business and also assist in helping you make this transition.

To help ensure regulatory compliance, safety and overall public health, states that have approved medical and recreational marijuana sales and use are leveraging technology as part of the solution. Most states have a rudimentary system in place (e.g. METRC) that collects the minimum data that is reported back to the state for basic compliance. For seasoned growers and professional operators, the solution doesn’t stop here. There is a more complete, faster, and intelligent layer of technology that is being used to support cannabis businesses across the value chain.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Obama-era position of the Federal government to not intervene in states that have legalized marijuana. Whether this ends up being a major, minor, or non-issue remains to be seen. This does, however, further encourage individual states and the owners/operators of canna-businesses to focus on compliance.

Cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, which poses a variety of challenges for any cannabis operations attempting to conduct financial transactions even in states that have legalized pot. Not only that, carrying large amounts of cash poses huge security issues for dispensaries. However, cryptocurrencies are providing solutions to some of these problems and making it easier for cannabis related businesses to carry out transactions. While Bitcoin has become widely popular, there a few alternative cryptocurrencies that are designed just for the pot sector. Here are a few currencies that aim to make business easier for cannabis businesses: