While many technology companies stayed away from Cannabis reforms, a major change is now taking place. Apple, the tech giant, has reversed its policy and shown its support for cannabis in a limited way. It was a monumental change when Apple declared that there was no ban on its store for apps “for licensed pharmacies and licensed or otherwise legal cannabis dispensaries”. This was stated in the company’s guidelines for its App Store.
A cannabis legalization wave has been developing in the USA for the last few decades. It involved the decriminalization of cannabis possession, legalization of the use of medical cannabis, and later that of recreational cannabis, by many states.
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But most of the bigger companies like Google and Facebook had kept their distance from the developing policy, refusing to accept even industrial hemp as legal, leave alone accepting the use of marijuana for other purposes.
Of course, Apple is not the first company to come out with its support. Other mainstream companies like NFL, Uber, and Amazon have already joined the fray, giving their support for marijuana legalization. B
ut unlike them, Apple’s revelation of its policy change was a low-key affair. Nevertheless, it has come at a very opportune time for cannabis enthusiasts and businesses, because this is a time when public interest, in general, is showing a dramatic shift towards cannabis legalization.
While an opinion poll by Gallup has shown that 68% among the public are in favor of legalization, leaders like Chuck Schumer, who is the Senate Majority Leader; Cory Booker, author and senator from New Jersey; and Ronald Wyden, senator from Oregon, are also throwing their weight behind the campaign.
Adair Lion, Co-Founder at Artis IQ & Artis Exchange, pointed out that as a financial technology company involved in the development of retail and cannabis, Apple’s changes in policy were a great change in the present society’s style of mobile transactions.
A change in the outlook of political leaders and leading multinationals is bound to influence the viewpoint of the public significantly, in issues like bringing to the mainstream, businesses that had till now been considered illegal and had survived only in the fringes of the society.
A time there was when cigarette advertisements were not considered wrong, and Babe Ruth and other baseball players smoked cigarettes while sitting on the bench of the dugout. Likewise, much later, Elon Musk’s support for bitcoin had helped the price of cryptocurrency soar.
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However, Apple’s approval is only for licensed cannabis businesses, and that too strictly within geographical boundaries where it is fully legal. A financial technology company like Artis can help in this because it is seen that customers prefer not only just digital payment systems but embedded ones.
The growth in technology solutions and digital payment styles has been limited in the cannabis industry, mainly because it is still not a fully mainstream business.
The policy changes of Apple are an illustration of the thoroughness of the task and innovation styles that Artis is giving to the evolving cannabis industry. The companies that can provide solutions to complex problems will always be one step ahead of other companies. Cannabis, because of the stamp of illegality it had, and the different attitudes of the public and entrepreneurs towards it is an industry that has many problems to solve.
To make cannabis a mainstream business, far more help from skilled professionals is required. The proposed bill in the United States Congress that would recognize the legalization of marijuana by many of the states, is considered to be a historical step in the decriminalization of marijuana. By participating in the new marijuana laws in a fully legal way, all who are going to be part of the developing cannabis industry can help to bring it to the mainstream.
