We’ve been talking about new technology for the cannabis industry a lot this year, so we thought we would take the best of our various presentations and combine them into an easy to access blog post.

Last year saw the first legal recreational cannabis sales in a long time and since then, the technology surrounding the industry has taken off. While there are some companies working on fantastic solutions to product supply and tracking, we chose to focus on the technology going into cultivation centers. For far too long, cultivation technology has remained stagnant while professional growers make do with equipment meant for a much smaller operation.

Here’s where we see cannabis cultivation technology heading.

• Hybrid Buildings: As cultivation becomes more sophisticated and competition increases, having the best growing environment possible is going to become crucial. Hybrid buildings combine the best of greenhouse growing with the best of indoor cultivation, creating a sealed environment that utilizes the sun for lighting.

• LEDs: While there is currently much debate among growers about the effectiveness of LEDs for growing cannabis, we believe the future of lighting is LEDs. One of the biggest hang-ups for LEDs currently is that most spectrums are not optimized for cannabis. However, as cannabis continues its path towards full legalization, more and more companies will put their resources towards creating an LED chip that is optimized for cannabis, delivering the desired spectrum and providing increased control over lighting intensity.

• Engineered Reflectors: Until LEDs are ready and wide-spread acceptance is common, reflectors for HPS and other bulbs will become highly engineered. Photometrics will play a part in reflector design, allowing growers to maximize the light output of their currently preferred bulb type. Ultimately, we see this as an intermediary step towards the above mentioned takeover of LEDs.

• Automation: As cultivation centers increase in size, automation will become necessary. Automation systems will be available to monitor the entire building, from watering schedules to humidity levels to building security. Facility monitoring and automation will become widespread and common, especially in medical facilities where every aspect needs to be controlled to ensure quality.

• Water Management: Currently an infrequent topic of conversation, water management will become critical to a sucessful grow.Systems will become available that make it possible to reuse all water in the facility, other than that consumed by the plant itself. Drought conditions in many states will spur this desire, especially in states where indoor cultivation is popular.

While there are many more opportunities for cannabis technology to evolve and improve to create more efficient cultivation operations, these are the ones we believe will become a reality in the near future. Some are already on the market, just waiting for their time to shine and others are yet to be developed. Wherever the cannabis market heads, improved technology will be there, leading the way.