CALIFORNIA, BLOCKCHAIN AND CANNABIS

The California Legislature passed a bill that would establish a working group to focus on the benefits, risks and costs of using blockchain technologies by state, local and California-based businesses. The working group would focus on the possible use cases, privacy risks, legal implications and best practices for implementation.  The working group will issue a report to the legislature by July 1, 2020.   
 
Blockchain is a distributed ledger that records each step in a supply chain or transaction. Blockchain technology can be on a public network, such that everyone can see and access the information on the chain, or it can be on a private network, such that only persons in the network can access the information.  Blockchain technologies would be an optimal solution for the states seed-to-sale tracking system.  Cannabis banking is another use case that would benefit from blockchain technology, especially if coupled with crypto currency.  California is leading the way forward.  We can hope that the cannabis industry is a key beneficiary of this process.