California cannabis grower uses blockchain to track weed

A cannabis nursery based in California has turned to blockchain and smart contracts to verify the authenticity of medicinal plants.

The cannabis nursery, known as the Mendocino Clone Company, was named in a January 13 partnership announcement by the EMTRI Project and technology firm Global Compliance Applications.

It will leverage the project’s blockchain capabilities to certify all clones, or baby plants, with a batch certificate.

Cannabis nurseries are establishments specializing in plant genetics, producing clones and baby plants and seeds for wholesale distribution.

The move allows the nursery to “document the beginning stages of a cannabis plant’s journey to becoming a premium product for consumers based on the gram weight it flowers,” it said.

The batch certificate is a self-generated smart contract for each clone batch. It gives each baby plant its own “unique identity block”, created by the nursery and linked to its Ethereum-based blockchain.

Their customers, which include commercial farms and retail outlets, can use this to verify the authenticity of their clones and their genetic lineage, it added.

The first round of batch certificate clones will be available from the first week of February.

In addition, licensed cultivators who purchase Mendocino clones will gain access to EMTRI token (EMT) rewards and better prices for participating in the blockchain project.

EMT was launched in November to provide rewards to project participants. The tokens can be traded on Uniswap for USDC or bet for additional returns. EMT is not listed on any centralized exchange or crypto market data platforms such as CoinGecko.

EMTRI Corp co-founder Scott Zarnes commented:

“We are excited to be at the forefront of the cannabis industry and be the first in the United States to adopt this cutting-edge technology in this way.”

Related: Cannabis-focused crypto startup launches an NFT community

However, combining crypto with cannabis is not a new concept.

In November, a cannabis-themed Metaverse project called Cannaland was launched to create a virtual world for cannabis enthusiasts. In January 2022, a custom pipe manufacturer launched tokenized bongs with celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Santana snapping up the NFTs.

Projects like PotCoin (POT) and CannabisCoin (CANN) aimed to provide an industry-specific digital currency as far back as 2014, but they never really took off.