National Canadian pharmacy chain to trace medical cannabis using blockchain

Canada’s biggest pharmacy franchise, Shoppers Drug Mart, is teaming up with TruTrace Technologies to develop a blockchain-secured pilot program for the medical cannabis industry.

The companies hope the partnership will result in more standardized medicine, as well as more consistent clinical outcomes, they said in a news release.

The program will use TruTrace’s technology for identity management, tracking, validation and product authentication.

The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of July, and full implementation is targeted for late November.

“When a patient takes medication, there is an expectation that it is standardized and they can expect consistent clinical outcomes and results,” Shoppers Drug Mart Vice President Ken Weisbrod said.

“Although that’s not always a guarantee within the medical cannabis industry at the moment, we’re hoping this new program can help change that.”

Shoppers operates about 1,300 pharmacies across Canada.

The company is a federally licensed seller of medical cannabis.

There were 354,000 active client registrations for medical cannabis in Canada as of March.