Microsoft Jumps into the Weed Business

Marijuana plant flowering

Let’s face it, selling weed has always been big business. It is become more legitimate and has taken its place alongside alcohol as a legal intoxicant. At least it has in 24 states and that number is expected to grow. Why? Because it is no worse than alcohol and it delivers big tax bucks.

Now Microsoft is getting in on the ground floor of providing services to this budding industry (pun intended). Microsoft is working with Kind Financial a marijuana sales compliance company. According to  Kind’s website it provides “seed to sale software and financial technology.”

Kind Financial offers; 

• Agrisoft – Seed to sale software for cannabis tracking, compliance and operation management.
• Kind Government Solutions – Technology and Consulting Services for government and regulatory agencies.
• Link to Banking – Financial tools for institutions to service the cannabis industry.
• KindPay – Cash free mobile pay and customer loyalty platform for the cannabis industry

Microsoft has given it partnership with Kind an official name. Its called the  “Microsoft Health and Human Services Pod for Managed Service Providers.” Microsoft and Kind are collaborating to provide local and state governments where weed is legal with technology to track and trace the  local legal marijuana market. 

But there is more to it than that.  Kind designs technology that monitors marijuana market activity to prevent the illegal trade of cannabis products throughout the supply chain. 

Legal weed for medical and party purposes has exploded in parts of the U.S. over the past several years. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington have legalized the sale, possession and use of weed for whatever reason.

Kind, based out of Los Angeles, will support government cannabis monitoring programs by running their technology on Microsoft’s Azure Government cloud.

Breaking it Down

 That’s not weed you smell its money and vice versa. Why is Kind and Microsoft getting together? Money! Why are states legalizing weed for medical and other purposes? Money! Tax money! Colorado took in $70 million in marijuana taxes in 2015 alone. And that number is growing. And don’t let those elected jerks in Washington fool you. They are getting on the marijuana gravy train as well with a 70% tax on legal marijuana businesses. What they are really trying to do is shut down the legal weed businesses.  Won’t happen! Like they say, the genie is out of the bottle. This is a money making business that has come of age. There are simply far too many people who have or continue to smoke weed. They know the truth about the wacky weed and they know what it does to them just like drinkers do. Its too late for governments to turn back so they might as well get in on the party.