A Closer Look At Cannabis And NFTs - What Are Marijuana NFTs And How Are Brands Using Them?

This article was originally published on Cannabis.net and appears here with permission.

South Park did a wonderful bit about NFTs where Butters – aka Victor Chaos – was a force that was needed to keep under lock lest the whole world devolved into chaos! The episode known as “Post Covid II” illustrated the fickle nature of NFTs and how most people who are involved with the buying and selling of the digital assets have no real clue what they are doing.

In essence, the NFT market today is mostly hot air, but the technology is a pivotal point in history that will have a significant impact on society as we know it. But for those who are completely ignorant to the idea of NFTs, don’t worry – I’ll provide some base explanation about how all of that works so we are all on the same page.

More importantly, I was interested in learning how NFTs could be used in the cannabis industry and if we will soon see more cannabis related NFTs appear on the market this year.

First thing is first…

What the bloody hell is an NFT?

An NFT is a Non-Fungible Token, which means that it is 100% unique and cannot be negotiated by substitution. For example, a fungible asset would be apples. I could take five apples, place them in a barrel full of apples, and grab five different apples which would all have the same value than the first five I grabbed.

Non-Fungibility eludes to uniqueness, in that this digital asset is one of a kind and that there is no other item that has the exact same value as it. In order to make an NFT, or as people in the industry call it “mint” an NFT is to find a platform like OpenSea, which is arguably one of the largest NFT marketplaces.

Then, using an image or whatever digital asset you choose – you will then add it into the block chain (aka minting) which then becomes available for sales.

NFTs have applications in;

• Art

• Music

• Videos

• Collectibles

• Domain Names

• Memes

• Virtual Fashion Items

• Rights

This is just the tip of the spear of course, there are plenty of other applications we haven’t even considered yet, but for now it seems that the vast majority of the NFTs live within the realm of digital art.

Cannabis and NFTS

This brings us to the next part of the equation – how can you effectively use cannabis in the world of NFTs, or how can the two benefit each other?

One way I have seen this play out is the popular NFT series called, “The Crypto Cannabis Club”, which has created a series of algorithmically generated NFTs (NFTs that combine different data points to create unique images) When you buy these NFTs – which are sold out by the official supplier – you immediately become a part of the Club.

This club will host grow competitions and other in-club activities that can only be attended by NFT holders, making it a means of exclusive access.

And this is where the value of NFTs shine. Since they are unique and cannot be replicated – it serves as a great way for brands and companies to create special categories of interaction between the brand and the NFT holder.

For example, let’s say that you are starting a company and anyone who buys an NFT becomes a part of your exclusive club. In this club, you might give people discounts to your goods or invites to unique events.

Additionally, if you are a cannabis breeder, NFTs could serve as a means of registering your crops so that there is a digital record, time stamped, that cannot be altered, to show that you were the “first” in creating this particular strain.

Another application I have seen it P2E schemes, such as the one in South Africa. P2E or Play-to-Earn is a concept where the NFTs have additional value that is generated over time. For example, NEKTR is doing just that.

NEKTR will be a community-guided P2E (play-to-earn) design that compensates its holders. Its NFT-driven entertainment will be a game-changer as it plans to provide financial compensations to its holders while supporting the cannabis industry. Consumers will use NEKTR or LEAF as a service in the game for daily cannabis plant care. Upon game conclusion, they will be able to exchange, sell, or collect the collected NFTS for later game utility…SOURCE

The founder of NEKTR also had this to say;

‘We are building a gaming network to help increase awareness about medicinal cannabis while funding cannabis prescription compensation programs and creating designed partnerships in the global medicinal and recreational cannabis field. NEKTR has also partnered up with an Artificial Intelligence organization known as Physix to create a Stoner Sapien add-on. This is a color-situated human adventure- a survey feedback circuit that interprets a plant expression production in the NEKTR cannabis growing video game. While we plan to budget 10% of this add-on revenue for the IMP, or the Ideological Money Pump, Physix’ charity drive, most are intended to back youth blockchain programming scholarships located in South Africa”

Conclusion

NFTs will become more prevalent over the coming years as people continue to ascribe new meaning and function to their existence. For now, there’s a whole lot of bullcrap and some real good ideas when it comes to the world of NFTs and for the cannabis industry, moving to the blockchain seems like a logical next step.

Not only for the creation of unique clubs and associations, but utilizing P2E systems can really help brands create a sense of loyalty programs and generate real value to NFT holders. Unlike Victor Chaos, there are people who actually are working on creating value and not just trying to pyramid scheme their way to riches.

What are some of your favorite Cannabis related NFTs?