America’s up-and-coming pot trade is now attracting interest from more and more tech start-ups
Video by: Lip News with Nik Zecevic, Jo Ankier and Margaret Howell
Will 2016 be remembered as the year that the weed industry went fully mainstream? According to industry analytics firm New Frontier; legal marijuana sales hit $5.7 billion in 2015 and are expected to jump to $22 billion by 2020. Now tech giant, Microsoft seems to be getting in on the action.
In a new deal with Kind Financial, a cannabis industry-focused software company, Microsoft will help build a “seed to sale” service for cannabis growers which will help them track their inventory, navigate laws and handle their transactions. With this partnership, Microsoft is the first major tech company to attach its name to the burgeoning industry of legal marijuana.
But remember, Marijuana is still illegal under Federal laws in United States. But currently, 25 states have legalized the use of medical marijuana, ranging from Alaska to Washington. The real move that will signal a full on shift for the industry is states begin to legalize recreational use. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Washington D.C. have already done this so far but five more states, including California which is crucial, are expected to vote on it this year.
So is this a risky move for Microsoft?
Not really, since the company is not actually trying to corner the weed market or do anything radical to change the industry. Its foray into the business is actually all about helping the real marijuana suppliers to meet government regulations. Microsoft claimed in a statement that their Azure software is “the only cloud platform designed to meet government standards for the closely regulated cannabis compliance programs.” Microsoft’s executive director of state and local government solutions, Kimberley Nelson, told the New York Times “as the industry is regulated, there will be more transactions, and we believe there will be more sophisticated requirements and tools down the road.”
So Microsoft’s move doesn’t seem to mean much for the average recreational smoker. If they do one day decide to invest in growing the green stuff, maybe then we can expect other big US companies like Apple to get in the game too.
We don’t have high expectations.
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