Think Marijuana Legalization Makes Life Easier For Pot-Based Business? Think Again.

While the legalization of Marijuana in a number of states meant that previously sketchy Pot-sellers now had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take what used to be a backstreet business operation onto the main market, technology is proving that their old ways of trade might lose out to the modern evolutions. For a while, when Pot legalization was still new for the states it was allowed in, brick-and-mortar stores selling hand-picked and the hand-grown product was the best and most efficient way to get your hands on some recreational marijuana. But now, technology and larger companies are arriving at the scene, and are looking to phase out many of the more traditional methods.

When the drug was illegal, companies wouldn’t have been able to get away with developing genetic testing systems and robotic, automatic harvesting for Marijuana products. But now that those days are gone, traditional pot salesmen seem to be grappling with the same issues faced by traditional farmers during the onset of genetically-enhanced robotic automated farming industries. That is, they’re facing off against another much bigger, much more experienced seller who is able to produce their very same product at a much larger scale than they are – for a lower price as well.

The only advantage true home-grown pot sellers have over this industrial pot revolution is their authentic, down-to-earth charm, which, if the current food sales market has anything to teach us, isn’t enough to turn people away from more stuff for less money.

The recent New West Summit Cannabis Conference showed off a number of new pieces (no pun intended) that will be used in the production and manufacturing of the new age of pot sales. Products and devices on display included accelerated methods for harvesting and testing, new strands of pot designed to last longer in manufacturing environments, and even strands designed to withstand a greater variance of food products and appeal to a greater palette of flavors.

This last subset of strands is very interesting: As the pot market continues to rapidly expand, states in which the drug has been made legal may soon see its user base expand out of the occasional long-haired tie-dyed hippie and make its way further and further into the hands of a mainstream audience. A larger palette range allows the traditional ‘Pot Brownie’ edible to become more of a universal Pot-infused food: Manufacturers are currently testing iterations of the drug inside of gummy bears, cooking oils, all manners of cakes and cookies, and more. If the market continues to expand at its current rate, it would not be unrealistic to imagine cannabis sales and use becoming as frequent and as socially accepted as recreational alcohol consumption.

But many traditionalists may still far prefer their product to be grown and crafted by a human rather than shipped out by a machine. After all, although there’s no real significant downside to computer-programmed pot production, there is a large emotional gap for many buyers who may be far more invested in the human-to-human interaction usually involved. And for many of the biggest spenders, that interaction can be their biggest incentive to buy in, especially for those who view the activity of recreational cannabis use as more of a social event.

Cannabis use is currently legal in nine states – Massachusetts, Vermont, Oregon, California, Washington, Nevada, Maine, Alaska, and Colorado. On October 17th 2018, the activity will also become legal in all of Canada, according to a post on CNet. The Cannabis industry – which is currently a $12 Billion dollar industry – could continue to see a period of rapid expansion should the substance become accepted in more and more areas. If so, local salesmen may soon have to invest in more and more inventive ways if they wish to keep their small-scale businesses afloat – The threat of large, corporate takeovers looms closer and closer, even in the once-niche market of Pot sales.