By Jonathan S. Robbins

Software giant Microsoft has taken a bold step forward into the legal marijuana business, signaling mainstream acceptance of the explosive, yet controversial, cannabis industry. Microsoft has partnered with Los Angeles-based Kind Financial on a cloud-based seed-to-sale tracking software. Kind Financial specializes in the development and deployment of tracking and compliance software for legal cannabis dispensaries and state governmental agencies tasked with regulating the rapidly growing industry. It has been forecasted that sales of legal cannabis market in the U.S. are expected to reach $7.1 billion this year. Most states with medical or adult-use marijuana programs require cultivators and dispensaries to track plants from seed-to-sale. Kind and Microsoft are teaming up to create cloud built solutions for states, counties and municipalities to monitor the legal industry and ensure compliance with state and local regulations. Through the software, governmental agencies will be able to track compliance with regulations, provide operational oversight and detect money laundering. Microsoft's role will be limited to providing support via its Azure Government Cloud Platform. The partnership is the first of its kind for Microsoft – the industry hopes that with one of the world's largest tech companies jumping into the space, others will soon follow.

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