Marijuana manufacturing 2.0 (cannabis business)

[Jesus Malverde]

Matthew Cohen wants his startup TRiQ to be the Toyota of marijuana manufacturing. The company, which opened its doors in Ukiah, Cal. in 2013, has a long way to go. But already, TRiQ is partnering with software and manufacturing companies outside the cannabis industry in an attempt to revamp the way marijuana is being produced. "Toyota is one of our idols," Cohen says. "How they took car manufacturing systems and totally reinvented it -- that's similar to what we are trying to do for cannabis now."

Meanwhile, up north, just outside of Detroit, Sam Alawieh, CEO and founder of the pharmaceutical company RXNB, has developed closed-door climate bay technology to replicate the exact environment of 50 different strains of marijuana in a controlled and sterile manufacturing environment. Alawieh, whose background is in pharmacology, has 32 patents pending on marijuana-related technologies. "People have been focused on access," he says. "But the second-wave evolution is about predictability and accountability."

The legal marijuana market in the U.S. is expected to grow 64% in 2014 to $2.34 billion, according to ArcView Group, a cannabis industry-focused investment group. In five years, ArcView estimates that figure will reach $10.2 billion. Recognizing marijuana's growing market potential, companies big and small are scrambling to get ideas patented. But until the federal government -- which ironically has its own health patent on marijuana -- changes its classification from a Schedule 1 drug, many investors and businesses are loath to risk involvement in the market.

Still, technology is exploding in the marijuana industry as a growing number of states move toward legalization, with innovations ranging from production equipment to vaporizers to products created with THC extracts. In the areas of manufacturing and software, there's a tremendous market to be tapped, says Justin Hartfield, CEO of Weedmaps.com and founder of the private equity group Emerald Ocean Capital, which focuses on the cannabis industry.

Read More: http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2014/02/12/marijuana-manufacturing-2-0/