| Graphic: BudGenius.com |
| If you have a dispensary in California and test five or more strains weekly with BudGenius.com, you can qualify for a free website. |
BudGenius.com, which is both a social networking website and medical marijuana testing laboratory, announced on Wednesday it is introducing a $250,000 program for the development of 25 websites to be built for qualifying medical marijuana dispensaries.
The company said it aims to show than an effective social web strategy will fully offset the cost of medical marijuana testing.
“We have a problem in the medical marijuana industry,” said Angel Stanz, cofounder and president of Santa Barbara-based BudGenius.com. “Many caregivers are distributing marijuana that is potentially contaminated with harmful mold and pesticides, while therapeutic dosing is rarely explained. Handling untested medicine without potency guidelines to patients is medically irresponsible.”
BudGenius says its internal study showed that less than one-third of all dispensaries surveyed in California test their marijuana for safety and potency. Of those currently testing, less than 25 percent maintain strict protocols to keep their catalog up to date.
| Graphic: BudGenius.com |
The most common reason cited for not testing medical marijuana is a lack of available net income, while a smaller percentage said they didn’t feel testing services added a benefit to their operations. Nearly all dispensaries were aware of available testing service, however.
“The Green Rush is over,” Stanz said. “Dispensary owners are entrepreneurs faced with financial difficulties similar to those of all small business owners. Our free website program aims to alleviate a portion of that financial pressure, while proving the efficacy of medical marijuana testing.
“We’re confident this program will publicly demonstrate that BudGenius services, combined with an effective social web strategy, will result in an improved net return,” Stanz said. “We intend to spark a proactive movement for safe medicine and we invite the media to take an active role in this process.”
Qualifying dispensaries are required to test 20 or more strains of medical marijuana per month. Dispensaries are also required to engage their patient base by using product inserts and offering opt-in advertising via email and Twitter.
BudGenius said it will guide the development of each website using its in-house teams. Each website will also serve as a beta platform for socially interactive features that BudGenius said it plans to introduce later this year.
Traffic analysis services are included to determine the most effective content presentations across a variety of demographics.
Only 19 of the 25 slots remain available, according to BudGenius.com. Medical marijuana dispensary operators can visit BudGenius.com/freewebsite.html to learn more about the program.