Although the cannabis industry has grown to $92 billion in value and the regulatory systems in many states have decriminalized use and possession, B2C and consumer networking has not kept pace. Mainstream social networks have restricted 420-friendly content and some cannabis companies have had their accounts terminated. In many communities in the US and around the world, there is still a stigma associated with all things marijuana.

Sure, there are a few platforms created for the cannabis industry growers and dispensaries that are grafted on forums and chat rooms for enthusiasts. However, most of these function for the industries to build positive relationships with their consumers and promote their products. The apps and sites created for end-user experience tend to follow traditional social media models like LinkedIn and Twitter, or location data platforms like Foursquare. But if they succeed, and many don’t, most of these specialize in only a few needs of the cannabis community.

That’s about to change. Spearheaded by Golden Ark, a profitable state-licensed seed-to-sale company, California’s leading growers and suppliers are creating the first metaverse platform for the marijuana-minded. They understand that their members need a safe environment for everything they want: social networking, shopping for wearables and accessories, finding dispensaries, and gaming with their friends.

The metaverse offers all that in an alternate reality that blends online interaction with the subjective experience of the real world.

The concept behind Golden Ark is similar to Decentraland, a virtual world that offers everything aficionados love most in a safe environment while providing meaningful human connection within the global cannabis community. There will be a marketplace for distributors and consumers to connect and play-to-earn-to-burn gaming to acquire crypto assets. At the shopping center, members can exchange tokens or fiat money for items such as cutting-edge wearables from Elemonkey and Cookie, CBD gear and topicals. Members can use the mapping system to find the best dispensaries or check out the educational material for product information.

This will also be the first platform that combines 420 culture with the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Golden Ark services and apps will be available to cryptocurrency holders of BUSD, ETH, or Ark420, while the blockchain dApp ensures all transactions will be secured, verified, and stored on a permanent decentralized ledger. And true to the code of the revolutionized blockchain ecosystem, members can create their own part of the world by establishing and monetizing their own lounge.

Golden Ark may have started by curating and growing seeds, but it’s grown into one of the most comprehensive cannabis business models with a vision for the future.