A company offering blockchain-based seed to sale tracking technology for the cannabis industry has partnered with heavyweight auditing firm Deloitte to bolster its transparency credentials.
TruTrace Technologies (CSE: TTT) runs a medical cannabis strain traceability scheme for Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada. WeedMD (CVE: WMD) became the first producer to qualify for the pilot scheme in June 2019 and the partners recently hailed it as a success.
Phase 2 of the pilot program is now taking place and Aphria Inc. (TSX: APHA) has joined the party as Shoppers Drug Mart aims to increase transparency, interoperability, and product identification within the medical cannabis industry.
Now TruTrace has brought Deloitte on board to help give consumers even greater confidence that they are buying verified products from credible sources. It said any producers and retailers that use its technology will now be able to build trusted brands and complete more accurate shipments.
“By working together to rapidly scale the adoption and implementation of our technology, we are confident that we can bring a greater level of traceability and trust to this evolving industry,” said TruTrace chief executive Robert Galarza.
Deloitte is one of the Big Four auditors and it serves four out of five Fortune 500 companies. It has 264,000 staff – 9,400 of whom are based in Canada – working for a number of industries, including the nascent marijuana trade.
David Stewart, a partner in Deloitte Canada’s Forensics practice, said he believes the TruTrace technology can build trust not only in B2B transactions within the cannabis industry, but also between retailers like Shoppers Drug Mart and consumers.
Producers like WeedMD and Aphria are able to register genetic cannabis strains with TruTrace’s StrainSecure platform. It then uses blockchain technology – which is more famous for powering cryptocurrency like Bitcoin – to allow everyone in the supply chain to track a bud’s journey from seed to sale. It also provides information about each plant’s molecular and chemical makeup.
Aphria said it will help with health and safety for all medical cannabis patients. Phase 2 will be completed in the weeks ahead and a full launch is expected in November.
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