How will the cannabis industry evolve on the internet?

[john5000]

Cannabis for medical and religious use is already legally supported in many US states, in addition to many other countries than the US.

California and some other states are expected to relegalize cannabis for recreational use this year, and treat it somewhat like alcohol.

I can see lots of opportunities for webmasters to contribute to the cannabis industry:

For example:

- Building and maintaining websites/apps for cannabis dispensaries, farms, glass blowing groups, water-pipe suppliers, canna-business consultants, seed/clone producers, and any other business or social-profit that is involved in cannabis.

- Building and maintaining social websites/apps themed around cannabis.

Do you think we'll be seeing more cannabis-related offerings on sites like ebay and amazon?

What kinds of opportunities do you see in this growing field (lucky pun)?

[onepointone]

and treat it somewhat like alcohol.

I think there may actually be more opportunities (for small businesses anyway), while it exists in a legal gray area. If it becomes totally legalized and legitimized like alcohol or tobacco, the big boys (corporations) will take over the bulk of the market. (like alcohol & tobacco).

[dpd1]

The potential problem I see is that various jurisdictions across the country and even within each state, have greatly differing opinions on the subject. CA for instance... The state has one opinion, but the feds don't exactly love that opinion. So I think there is going to be a huge gray area where it's going to be confusing. That might keep businesses shying away from it for quite a while, until some solid guidelines and laws can be laid down. As it is right now, it's extremely difficult to know exactly what you can and can't do.

[piatkow]

Remember to check your hosting services Terms of Service. They will be set to the lowest common denominator for things like this which could put your site off line pdq. Also you are likely to fall foul of a lot of filtering software.

[john5000]

I think it'd be ok if some bigboys enter the mix, as they may have sway within governments, and could further the arising of the peaceful/compassionate era of substance awareness. And the cannabis community is so hyper-connected and switched on that evil-doing corps will probably be swiftly tarred/feathered and shunned, while truly compassionate entities will thrive.

The thing about cannabis is that there are literally thousands of strains and many small-time farmers, and infinite possibilities for edibles and other specialty products.

The cannabis industry is much more like the herbal tea and boutique soap industries, where many small specialty outfits can find a decent niche.

The fuzzy and varying rules between regions, and between states/fed is definitely an issue.

With the American Medical Association recently proposing the rescheduling of cannabis, maybe the fed will soon follow the states, and things will get clearer.

Our American Medical Association (AMA) urges that marijuana's status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines

[cbsnews.com...]

As for hosting, maybe there is a great opportunity for someone to create a cannabis-friendly hosting service.

Regarding filtering software, I think that emphasizing the "medical" aspect is helpful, especially in title tags and page text. Also, cannabis is probably a better word to use than marijuana.

[Demaestro]

There is oppurtunity there but I would keep in mind what happened to Tommy Chong.

Shipping paraphernalia products where these laws aren't in place will get you a prison sentence.

Legal or not the stigma will remain for some time to come and there will be people who will be out to stop any efforts to further this market.