Cultivation
Like all other agricultural products, cannabis starts with farming, a.k.a. growing or cultivating. The cultivation process has 6 broad stages: germination, seeding, vegetative, pre-flowering, flowering and harvesting. After this, the product is dried, cured, and trimmed.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing involves extracting cannabinoids and terpenes from raw product, either with solvents or without, then packaging bulk flower into pre-rolls, smalls, tops, mids, and kief, or infusing consumables with distillate to make edibles.
Testing
Cannabis products are tested in an accredited lab using analytical chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry to look for contamination, pesticides, mold and mildew – to ensure that the products meet compliance.
Distribution
Distribution
Moving product from seed-to-sale subjects distributors to enormous compliance hurdles, such as vehicle size limitations, interstate transport restrictions, and complex intra-state regulations, licensing, and enforcement.
Dispensaries
Distribution
Dispensaries
At the end of the supply chain are the retailers, commonly known as dispensaries, and the sale of the products. Patients can only purchase cannabis products from a licensed retailer. Common challenges for retailers are product sampling, product knowledge and compliance concerns.