I have wrestled with this question for as long as I have been in the legal cannabis industry. Why is it that we took the same black market business framework of HOW we sell cannabis, into the legitimate market? Like, why did we just automatically assume that selling medicine by the gram, eighth, quarter, half oz and oz was the best step into the legal market? Selling cannabis by the weight has been the case for as long as I can remember. But has anyone ever asked if there was a better way for us to roll this out?
If you don’t recall, most of our medicine is distributed by 30 days, or a month supply. It is typically measured from a milligram dosage and then configured and recommended for us to consume. I think we can all agree that the cannabis industry is like no other and not a regular medical market. In just considering the medical market, is selling by the weight really the most effective way for our medical cannabis market to thrive and service all patients effectively? I’d like to introduce a few ideas that maybe the industry can take and consider as we reach a more commoditized industry.
Prescribing a certain amount of milligrams per month based on what kind of disease or condition you have is one way. Doesn’t matter what form of product, flower or concentrate or edibles but more so taking it from a total milligram approach for the month instead of by weight. This would give the patient a lot of flexibility and leeway to test their medical cannabis experience with multiple products and administration methods at a potentially lower cost than the current experiences. We, medical cannabis patients, know that it can be quite costly just to find the recipe for relief initially and can be expensive to keep up with the consumption supply.
Monthly unlimited re up subscription is a risky move for businesses but presents a unique offering to patients that is rarely seen in today’s market. Why do we not see more of an “all you can eat” prescription approach in the medical market? Especially on a medication that is non-toxic and virtually impossible to overdose from. And one that promotes so much connection and love for human beings? This too is a financial relief from how things are working today but does that take away from the success of the cannabis industry? Is the success of the industry weighed by financial gain or should we measure it by people healed physically or mentally?
Realizing a way to measure our ECS deficiencies and then tailor a prescription approach from doctors… This will take some time to reach and some innovation in the space before it can be a reality. But make no mistake this is where the industry is headed. Customized formulas that speak directly to your deficiencies and fill the crevices directly will be exciting. This should create more of a connection between you and the medical cannabis experience since we will have an actual road map to better health. Will selling medical cannabis by weight even seem appealing at this point?
There are many ways to think about this and not to mention when I refer back to the way we do things, in regards to modern medicine, I know some of you may not even agree with the 30 day model because it suggests that the medical industry sets us up to be customers. And does not help or heal us. We certainly don’t want to see the medical cannabis industry turn into something similar where it manufactures customers and not cures/solutions. We don’t want to see lifelong customers taking CBD/medical cannabis for their imbalance or deficiencies and not reach a cure or a solution. The industry is realizing that there are many different types of cannabis consumers with different types of preferred administration methods making it quite the experience to understand your relationship with cannabis. I hope more businesses innovate this approach for medical patients and continue to strive for homeostasis as an industry and species. Remember, cannabis didn’t heal you, you healed yourself when cannabis was in your system.
