| Berkeley Patients Care Collective |
| California dispensaries looking for a pure sativa like this Lambsbread now have help finding growers who have the strain in stock, thanks to CannCast. |
How can medical marijuana growers know which dispensaries need their strains? And how can dispensaries know which growers have what they need?
This conundrum had frustrated Berkeley Patients Care Collective managers Erik Miller and David Bowers for 10 years. There was no reliable way for their medical cannabis dispensary to regularly get certain strains that patients needed. Waiting and wishing is sometimes all dispensary managers can do, while spending too much time with providers who don’t have the strains or quality that they want.
Meanwhile, just showing up and hoping their particular medicine is needed is too often a reality for providers. After months of work growing cannabis, who wants to hear “We’re already overstocked on that strain”?
| CannCast |
| In the increasingly competitive environment that dispensaries find themselves in, CannCast says it provides a way to stay on top by ensuring specific strain inventories, specializing in certain medications and even allowing patients to make requests. |
With no system available, Miler and Bowers decided to build one themselves. Along with their friend, product manager and web developer Dennis Park, they created an internet-based solution emphasizing efficiency, predictability and privacy. CannCast.com was born.
“There hasn’t been any way until now to guarantee that certain strains which work well for patients would be available next month, or even next week,” Bowers said.
“We know that greater predictability in what medicine becomes available, and she, ultimately benefits the patients,” Miller added. “Particular strains are incredibly effective for certain ailments and needs.”
CannCast.com is a private social network that facilitates meetings between medical cannabis providers and dispensaries, based on specific strains. Dispensaries put up a list of requested strains. Providers post the strain type and quality level of their available excess medicine.
Through simple search, activity feeds, and featured articles the site allows easy discovery of particular medications and CannCast users, according to its creators. Once contact is made, an appointment can be scheduled.
Dispensaries get only what they want, providers find a home for what they have, and the end result is that patients have better access to their medicine.
“It is great to see innovations like this which create new ways for patients to find the medicine they need,” said Don Duncan of Americans for Safe Access (ASA).
Miller and Bowers said they’ve dedicated themselves to a patient-focused approach, with special emphasis on educating patients about the benefits of cannabis. They said they created CannCast as a “fermium” model, so that the basic user can use the system at no cost.
Their previous efforts include the popular cannabis collector cards (of which I am the proud owner of a complete set) which debuted at the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo in 2010 to an enthusiastic audience.
CannCast currently serves California only, but will open in Colorado “within the next few months,” according to its creators.
| CannCast |
| Searching by a strain name puts the focus on the medication first and foremost. CannCast says that finding and supplying the right medication is its goal. |