The booming marijuana market, predicted to reach over $66.3 billion by 2025, is advancing through new technologies. Artificial intelligence, tech company start-ups, and emerging apps set the ground for the cannabis industry to blossom even further. Not only do AI and cannabis apps help consumers finding better, smarter hemp and cannabis products, they also gather essential data for the industry—to improve decision making and new business initiatives.

New technology actors in the cannabis industry

One of the main drivers of fast cannabis business growth is marijuana technology. The world of cannabis technology has shown new predominant actors in all areas—from cultivation to consumption.

Some fields touched by such disruption are cultivation technology (grow methods, lighting, monitoring), laboratory technology (extraction, cannabis testing); and online cannabis technology (e-commerce, cannabis apps, and social media). The Internet, specifically, is a fertile ground for marijuana consumers to explore and share tips on hemp or cannabis-oriented services—and also for new businesses to reach out to their relevant markets.

Hence, a plethora of new apps emerged with the potential of moving the cannabis industry to new heights. From Leafly, the cannabis encyclopedia; to Eaze, the hemp delivery service, to Lift, a medical reviews app, everything is covered.

Artificial intelligence, alongside cannabis apps, has shown enticing development in the cannabis industry. As stated by Forbes, machine learning and AI can provide new layers of decision making and analysis for practitioners and consumers to gather critical insights. Such insights benefit both the consumers and the industry, which can collect and analyze data around cannabis more efficiently—to develop better products and services.

Protecting the industry and bringing relevant information to consumers

Historically, the marijuana industry was hampered by the dark web and illegal cannabis trafficking. With legal cannabis businesses, not only do consumers find safer marijuana products, but also the industry creates new jobs, seeing multiple innovative startups surface.

Now that consumers can access a large amount of information to find the best cannabis products tailored to their needs, the industry is likely to see a surge in positive referrals. But this isn’t the only goal. Gathering data to enable better decision making and technological developments within the cannabis industry is another area of interest.

Cannabis Tech spoke with Meni Morim, CEO of Namaste Technologies, about Uppy, its forward-thinking cannabis medical app. Uppy is on the way to revolutionize the pharmaceutical cannabis industry. Combining machine learning and human intelligence, Uppy gathers medical information about patients to match them with the right strains and products for therapeutic purposes.

Morim states, “It’s difficult for patients to medicate. If you suffer from anxiety or paranoia and choose the wrong strain, the effects could be negative.”

As countries differ regarding legislation on marijuana, online cannabis actors strive to align their goals with shifting the industry toward new edges, where critical decision making and analytical findings meet. This is one of the reasons why Uppy was born, claims Morim: “In Canada, nobody will tell you which strains to go for. Today, there’s no solution to allow you to find the right product for you. That’s the main motivation we had to build Uppy.”

Uppy app is the perfect embodiment of what machine learning, AI, and a data-oriented cannabis app can bring to the marijuana industry—to improve patient’s conditions and provide clear insights about medical marijuana.

Morim concludes, “Human intelligence, machine intelligence: we come to the same conclusion. That’s something we envision to see in the future.”

What’s next for the marijuana business and online apps

The technological developments within the cannabis industry are a driving force that not only brings accurate information or services to consumers but will also help the sector create smarter solutions. There’s no sign of slowing down as the industry stepped into new areas of technological insights around machine learning and AI. Cannabis apps are bringing new consumer behavioral shifts that boost the industry’s increasing growth.

Currently, the skyrocketing industry’s primary focus is to gather real-time, quality data to improve the already flourishing app market. As stated by Allison Margolin, attorney and Medical Marijuana advocate, “As with every market, convenience is key in the cannabis industry. Following the legalization of recreational marijuana, we have noticed a boom in the technology industry; new cannabis-specific apps, software, hardware, and business-consumer platforms are being developed every day.”