Microsoft has supported the marijuana market

The first large corporation dared to break the unspoken taboo. Is the ice broken?

One by one, the US states legalize marijuana. In 25 states, cannabis is permitted in one form or another, and in three states - Colorado, Oregon, and Washington - Ganja smoking is legalized for recreational purposes, which is of commercial interest for hundreds of companies that immediately entered the market.

In the fall of 2016, a referendum on the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes will be held in huge California ( 39 million inhabitants ) and four more states. And when California residents make a positive decision, and almost no one doubts that, sales of cannabis can grow from the current $ 6.5 billion to $ 25 billion over several years. Even before the legalization of marijuana, millions of Americans (among them the current and past presidents of the United States) gained experience in its use, so experts predict great prospects for this market.

At the same time, large corporations are still cautious and try to stay away. To the surprise of many, Microsoft was the first to break the unspoken taboo among the big IT players. She entered into a partnership agreement with Kind Financial , a small Los Angeles-based startup in the marijuana market. In particular, Kind develops tools that help keep records and comply with the myriad of state regulations and requirements for the sale of marijuana.
')
Agrisoft Seed to Sale platform runs the business of a marijuana farmer drug dealer from beginning to end: from buying seeds and growing a product to delivering the packaged goods to a retail network and calculating profits. For example, Kind Financial issues special terminals, similar to ATMs, for receiving money and issuing receipts for receiving marijuana.


^{Terminal Kind Financial}

Microsoft has pledged to promote its new partner, recommending it, including for government contracts, writes the NY Times. Government contracts, of course, are not connected with the purchase of marijuana for state needs, it has not yet reached, but with the development of specialized software and cloud services, business accounting and marijuana turnover: this is the Agrisoft Seed to Sale for Government platform.



A whole industry of young startups is rapidly forming on the American market. They serve farmers who grow marijuana, automate the work of stores that sell "grass". Despite the huge commercial prospects, this industry remains somewhat aloof from the "traditional" business. For example, only a few small banks agree to open accounts for companies that grow cannabis and sell marijuana.

But as the market begins to regulate the state and big reputable players, like Microsoft, come here, the situation may move from the dead point. In this sense, Microsoft can be a pioneer who will pull others along.

“Like any business that operates in the marijuana market, we all strive for legitimacy. I would like to think that this is the first fallen domino bone, followed by many others, ” said Microsoft founder and executive director of Kind Financial David Dinenberg , who has a hefty cannabis plant in his office, who welcomed Microsoft’s decision.



Kind Financial will now be included in the number of Microsoft Health and Human Services - a clip of service providers, whose services government organizations can use through the Azure Government Cloud cloud service.

Of course, Microsoft will have a very distant relationship to the business of growing and selling marijuana, but even such indirect support means a lot to the industry.

In general, the legalization of marijuana has a number of advantages, in terms of supporters of legalization. Drug users get cheaper, high-quality and safe goods (instead of dangerous spices, which traffickers replace the forbidden "weed"), the state receives tax revenues, reduces the cost of combating drug trafficking and maintaining prisons (previously millions of people were thrown into prisons for receiving not very dangerous drugs, while remaining free, like Steve Jobs , took them in secret).

In addition, crime is reduced, as traffickers lose their source of funding. Drug dealers just extremely unprofitable legalization.

There is another effect: as the study showed in 2002–2013 , as the “weed” was legalized, its use gradually decreased among adolescents. Apparently, it’s not cool for teenagers and it’s boring to buy legalized marijuana in the store, which their parents smoke (although selling teenage marijuana in the store is still banned by teenagers, as well as selling tobacco).

Interestingly, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who even in his youth refused to take drugs, now was not aware of the partnership deal with Kind and found out about it from journalists. Although Bill Gates did not confess to using lung drugs, in 2014 he personally voted to legalize marijuana in his home state of Washington. “This is just an experiment. Probably, before legalizing marijuana at the state level, it is worth checking for a couple of states, ”he said then.

Microsoft itself is now considering participating in specialized conferences on marijuana. "This is a completely new area for us," said Kimberly Nelson, executive director of solutions for state and local governments at Microsoft. “We have to determine which conference could be the largest in this area.”

Microsoft shares today, by the way, rose by 1.5% . But the site of Kind fell immediately after the publication of a press release on cooperation with Microsoft. Lies so far. Probably could not stand the influx of visitors.