The Full Circle Of The Cannabis Industry
My next topic is quite a taboo subject for some but an extremely popular one for Billions of people worldwide. I'm talking about the Cannabis industry. Before Cannabis was known as an illegal substance, it was a used for fiber and as a herbal medicine. The first recorded uses for Cannabis have been integral in many ancient cultures. The earliest known usage was discovered in Holland were a neolithic grave was discovered, dated 2459-2203 BCE. Inside the grave, large concentrations of Pollen were found. Analysis showed that the Pollen was mostly Cannabis with a small amount of Meadowsweet, a plant which possessed fever quelling properties. The grave belonged to someone who was extremely ill and the Cannabis was used as a painkiller.
Cannabis appears throughout history. The ancient Greeks, ancient Egyptians, as well as in ancient manuscripts in India and medieval Islam. The Vikings and medieval Germans used cannabis for relieving pain during childbirth and for toothaches. Extensive use was first recorded in Asia around 500 BC and was then traded around Europe and Africa. For hundreds of years surgeons used cannabis as an anesthetic. Reducing the plant to powder then mixing it with wine for administration prior to conducting surgery.
It was known that Germanic tribes introduced it to the UK in the 5th Century after the raids from the Anglo-saxons. Cannabis made it's way over to America in the 1600's. In 1619, King James I decreed that the American colonists of Jamestown would need to step up efforts to do their fair share towards supporting England. The Virginia Company enacted the decree, asking Jamestown's land owners to grow and export 100 hemp plants to help support England's cause.
It wasn't until 1906 that Cannabis was seen to be harmful in any way. In the USA, Cannabis was labelled as a poison which needed to be controlled. It was made exclusive, just for medicinal purposes only. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was formed in 1930, which was headed by Harry J. Anslinger. After the prohibition of alcohol ended in 1933, the bureau's attention quickly focused on Cannabis. The key catalyst and Anslinger’s go-to case branding Cannabis as the “devil’s weed.” Victor Licata, a boy from Florida hacked his family to death with an axe. The news was brought to him by a doctor, who out of 30 doctors was the only doctor to label Cannabis as dangerous was used to instill widespread fear.
The United Kingdom acted slightly earlier making Cannabis illegal in 1928, adding it to the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920. It was allowed to be used for medicinal purposes until 1971. The main medicinal purposes Cannabis was used for in the UK was for treating drug addiction, which is where it picked up its stigma as a gateway drug.
When you look at the big picture, Cannabis his only been illegal for a fraction of it's involvement with mankind. Pro Cannabis campaigns have rallied since the day it was made illegal, to bring it's valuable qualities out of the darkness and into the light. Now as many US drug companies face floods of lawsuits from people claiming to have been harmed by opioid-based painkillers, medical marijuana is back on the agenda as a potentially safer alternative. There are many illnesses and diseases which Cannabis has had a positive effect on.
Controlling Epileptic seizures
Reversing the Carcinogenic effects of Tobacco
Helping to control the spreading of Cancer
Slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease
Easing the pain of Multiple Sclerosis
Reduces the side effects of Hepatitis C treatment
Treating Inflammatory Bowel diseases
Help relieve pain and discomfort for Arthritis sufferers
Reducing tremors in sufferers of Parkinson's disease
Helping veterans suffering from P.T.S.D
Protects the brain after a concussion or trauma
Now in the United States, the consumption of Cannabis legal to some extent in 30 states, though the majority only allow consumption for medicinal purposes. In the United Kingdom a conference took place in August in a major bid to lift Cannabis out of the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1920 and be used for medicinal purposes.
Many statistics since the legalisation of Cannabis in the USA have been a real eye opener to their neighbors, who are still on the fence. Colorado collected almost twice as much revenue through taxation of Cannabis than Alcohol and also showed a dramatic decrease in crime as a result of it. Many neighboring states are tipped to become the next in line to legalize Cannabis in 2018 and experts predict that by 2021, will be legal nationwide.
Cannabis on the blockchain
Since blockchain technology has been at the forefront of innovation, it has been implemented into many industries. For those of you that are unaware of blockchain technology, let me explain.
The blockchain in a nutshell is a huge library of transactions. When a user sends an item of value, the transaction is processed and placed into a block with many other transactions. The block is cryptographically sealed, which means that a complex algorithm is applied to link it to the block that came before and opens up a new block above it. This form a chain of blocks which are all interlinked cryptographically. This guarantees the security of personal information because for a hacker to break into one singular block, he must break into them the entire blockchain. Transactions are extremely fast, averaging around 10 seconds. Which cuts a whole 3 business days off the time it takes for a bank to process.
The blockchain is also completely transparent and we can store any item of value on it. This can be a little tricky to understand at first. Imagine a world where you can see the entire history for the item you are buying and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it can be counterfeit. This sounds too good to be true doesn't it? When a company creates a product or any item of value, they can register that product on the blockchain with a specific number. When the item is sold, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and we have a new owner of this specific item. The item could have 30 owners before it get's to you. We can find out if the item is genuine because we can look at the entire history of the item through the blockchain. It will display the entire history of the item. We have no reason to doubt anymore, we have entered the era of transparency.
As the Cannabis industry is beginning to bloom into an extremely substantial market with Billions of supporters, the addition of blockchain will be a key growth catalyst. At the forefront of this surge are Duber, a decentralised Cannabis ecosystem. By bringing Cannabis into the blockchain they are creating a coherent network of information which flows from the growers all the way to the consumer and back again.
The Cannabis industry is an accumulation of many different stages of process, which aren't collectively interlinked. The inclusion of blockchain technology allows Consumers to see the details for where their product was grown, how it was grown and the journey it has taken to get to them. They can then provide feedback to any part of the network and be rewarded for it with Duber's native Cryptocurrency (DBR).
Consumers can access the Duber marketplace and select the product they wish to buy. They can see every process the product has been a part of which are; the growers, testing laboratories, processors, retailers and the delivery. As time passes and community connoisseurs dissect the finest technique of each stage, their feedback will help to distinguish the best. Providing other consumers with excellent information but also creating an air of competition between different parties at each stage. Which ultimately creates the finest product achievable. Also by providing input about each stage of the system, Duber rewards them in DBR. Consumers can also earn DBR through referrals and loyalty rewards.
The Duber ICO begins on December 5th, 2017 and is due to end on January 19th, 2018.