As the opioid crisis sweeps North America and continues to claim tens of thousands of lives every year, many healthcare advocates are looking for alternatives to high-powered, highly addictive painkillers. Many believe that one of the most effective alternatives has been under our nose the whole time: cannabis.
Increasingly, countries, states, and provinces across the Western world see the benefits of medical cannabis as an alternative to synthetic drugs. As governments begin to loosen their cannabis laws, many companies explore the possibility of getting into the lucrative business of cannabis production.
But while the production of cannabis for medical purposes can be an exciting opportunity that can offer a serious return on investment, getting into the cannabis business isn’t as easy as it might seem.
Cannabis is still a controlled substance in an overwhelming number of jurisdictions. Starting a cannabis facility means navigating a vast regulatory framework meant to keep the profits out of the black market and out of the hands of children.
Sophisticated Software for a Complex Market
Fortunately, the tech industry has been developing solutions specifically designed to help production companies manage and track the growth, harvest, and sales of cannabis to ensure compliance with government regulations.
This software has taken the cannabis production business from being plagued with inefficiencies to one that holds real potential for investment and profit.
Cannabis seed-to-sale platforms help producers keep track of their plants electronically, making it easier to file reports and provide detailed tracking evidence for each plant from seed to sale. Many of these platforms also incorporate cannabis patient registration software that helps producers connect directly with medical clinics.
For example, these platforms often work directly with clinics to register medical cannabis patients directly online, saving huge amounts of administrative work. This has had a revolutionary impact on providing care to patients who use medical cannabis by reducing the time it takes to register and making it easier and faster to fill prescriptions and provide the care patients need.
Cannabis Tech: Meeting Clinic, Producer, and Patient Needs
Tech is also playing an important role in medical cannabis simply by making it easier for clinics to make cannabis care available to their patients. Given the history of cannabis as a controlled substance, it is not always easy for clinics to find providers who can offer high-quality cannabis products.
By connecting clinics to licensed producers who are growing cannabis of the finest quality, these tech platforms make it easier for clinics to provide alternatives to potentially dangerous synthetic painkillers.
In the years since governments first started exploring the possibility of medical cannabis, it has become clear with every passing year that cannabis treatment is an alternative that can work and is a solution that is growing evermore popular with patients.
As more jurisdictions opt to replace punitive legal frameworks with sensible, scientific solutions, the importance of cutting-edge cannabis tech that can help providers and clinics meet patient needs and intuitively is only likely to become more apparent.