Over the last decade, there has been considerable discussion about the future of cannabis. Typically, those conversations center around legality, market size, and social and medical impacts, all of which are interesting topics in their own right. But there has been far less discussion about the digital future of cannabis. With more and more of our lives shifting online, how will cannabis fit into that? Is there space for cannabis in the metaverse? Or is it something that’s going to be relegated to the physical realm?
Odds are, you’ve heard the term metaverse thrown around online and in the news. But what is it exactly? That’s a hard question to answer.
According to Wired, the term metaverse “doesn’t really refer to any one specific type of technology, but rather a broad (and often speculative) shift in how we interact with technology.” In short, the metaverse is a pretty vague concept that tech giants are still working on fleshing out.
People can access the metaverse through various technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and even the traditional internet. Like the physical realm, it exists continuously and is a shared, collaborative, immersive, and interactive space.
The metaverse, as we see it in media like “Ready Player One,” does not yet exist. A complete online world, where users can jump from one realm or platform to another and back, purchase physical goods, and generally have every experience digitally that they could have physically, is still a long way off. The sheer amount of computing power necessary to produce a digital place like that is not something that’s within our grasp at this point.
However, smaller, more singular examples of the metaverse do exist. “Fortnite,” “World of Warcraft,” and other massive multiplayer online games are examples of metaverses and good blueprints for where the concept may take us. Many metaverse communities rely on platforms like Discord for communication, making them proto-metaverses—though they lack the virtual reality component most often tied to the full metaverse experience.
The metaverse comprises millions of small communities. These communities form around every kind of shared interest you could possibly think of, including cannabis.
As it stands right now, the metaverse may actually be a more welcoming place for cannabis users and aficionados than the real world. Most traditional, or physical, communities still have strict legislation surrounding cannabis use. More than half the states in the U.S. still prohibit recreational cannabis use, and 11 states actively block its medicinal use.
Because of these restrictions, traditional cannabis businesses face strict regulations when it comes to education and marketing, as well as logistical hurdles when it comes to getting their products in the hands of customers.
The metaverse, which exists outside of geographical constraints as it’s a decentralized platform, can work around many of these regulations. Metaverse users can “walk into” a cannabis company in the virtual world and browse product options, have their questions answered by experts, and get sound medical and legal advice surrounding cannabis issues that may not be available to them in their home state.
The metaverse can make it easier for the broader cannabis community to connect, regardless of individuals’ physical locations. The virtual reality piece also helps to humanize cannabis, taking it from a high-level conceptual debate to a real-life issue that has actual impacts on ordinary lives.
READ: How I Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Washington DC
Cryptocurrency, a digital form of currency that relies on blockchain technology and operates outside the traditional banking and financial institution systems, is the metaverse’s preferred form of payment. It’s also hugely advantageous for the cannabis industry.
Many cannabis companies struggle to secure funding from traditional banks and financial institutions because the laws and restrictions surrounding the industry are still so complex. Oftentimes, these legal uncertainties make the risk placed on the banks too high, and they refuse to offer loans, extend lines of credit, or be involved in regular transactions.
Cryptocurrency, on the other hand, doesn’t need to worry about these legalities because it doesn’t fall under the purview of any one government. So, for the cannabis industry, it can provide a secure, cash-free option for payment that reduces transaction fees and streamlines the purchasing process on all levels.
Additionally, its blockchain technology acts as a ledger, marking each transaction and providing a roadmap of supply chain transactions, which can help to build trust among cannabis consumers and distributors. But it can also be used anonymously (you don’t need to tie your identity to your cryptowallet through things like your SSN), which can be a big draw for people who need to keep their usage under the radar for whatever reason.
The Crypto Cannabis Club is a perfect example of one way cannabis may exist in the metaverse. Founded in 2022, the club is both a Non-Fungible Token (a digital asset that represents ownership of something, similar to cryptocurrency) and a metaverse community.
The year it launched, the club released a NFT collection of 10,000 cannabis inspired characters, called NFTokers. It has a Discord server where users regularly meet to chat, a dedicated space on X, an NFT-based game, and facilitates real-life events.
It also became the first to offer real-world cannabis products to its members through partnerships with existing brands and the creation of its own premium packaged cannabis flower. Eventually, the club hopes to offer cannabis for free to anyone who holds one of their NFTs, fully bridging the gap between the online and real worlds.
CEO Ryan Hunter told Forbes, “Our hope is to be ambassadors between the Metaverse cannabis community and the IRL cannabis community… [we want] our Metaverse properties to become a virtual connection point for cannabis aficionados and for our live events and products to be a contact point for the Metaverse in the real world.”
“I don’t think that large tech companies are likely to develop an authentic and engaging virtual approximation of the IRL cannabis community,” he continued. “That’s where we come in. We are deeply involved in the IRL cannabis community while we build the largest cannabis community in the Metaverse. We think that an authentic community that spans both of these worlds will help ensure that the cannabis community has family in each.”
The metaverse is still very much in development. Even those who actively have a hand in shaping it are uncertain what it will look like in the next five to ten years.
So who’s to say exactly what cannabis-centered metaverse communities will look like down the line? The Crypto Cannabis Club gives us a pretty good idea of one form they could take— an entity that exists in real life and online, that’s dedicated to sharing knowledge, creating community, and consuming the best products the industry has to offer— but it’s not the only possibility.
No matter the changes to come, it seems clear that cannabis absolutely has a place in the future of the digital world.
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