The Ethical Data Alliance was formed so that data about cannabis can be used to decode it, educate the public and shape the industry through shared learning. We are an open and growing collaborative of breeders, growers, researchers, writers, educators, lawyers, doctors, coders and cannabis advocates. Currently, a pilot data project has emerged as the group works to build the decentralized (meaning nobody owns it) data network.
Frequently asked questions:
EDA is a non-profit that works with member-donated data to promote public-interest research and the ethical sharing of data. The EDA does not own or store data, but instead accesses member data through blockchain protocols on the Ethical Data Exchange Network (EDEN).
What is blockchain and why is it the best option for ethical data sharing?
Data is big business and is becoming more valuable. Multi-billion dollar companies such as Google and Facebook derive their value from the massive amount of personal data they harvest from their users in exchange for the free tools they provide. In signing the terms and conditions for these services, these data generators are signing over the control and monetization rights of the data they generate. That data allows marketers and researchers to pay Google and Facebook to target messaging and marketing directly to individuals through their mobile and web based software applications.
The core of blockchain technology is that everyone has the right to autonomy over their data.
Individual pieces or sets of small data are not very useful, and therefore not profitable, on their own. When large amounts of many users’ small data are pooled, all the data takes on a greater value. Blockchain allows users to make their data both verifiable and more usable by allowing it to be recalled with other pieces of data and traded according to the rules set by the data owner.
Blockchain technology allows data owners to monetize and control their own data by allowing it to be identified and purchased through a public ledger, or network. This ledger is public and interconnected so data can be linked together through multiple data owners documenting verified claims of data and intellectual property.
How are claims made and verified?
For example, a cannabis grower can claim that a batch of their cultivar tested at 15% THC. This claim is made and stamped in the blockchain ledger where it can be verified by a third party data provider. In this case, the lab where the cannabis was tested would provide proof of a certificate of analysis (COA) that validates the claim that the batch has a THC content of 15%. This data is now stamped in the blockchain as verified by a third-party and can be recalled and purchased under the conditions the data owners have set.
If a data owner makes false claims, this is reflected in their reputation score on the network. Interactions in the network’s marketplace and verified or unverified claims contribute to this reputation score and can affect the value of the data the owner is trying to sell or share.
No U.S. dollars or equivalent government-backed currencies are used to value and trade the data stamped to the blockchain, this is where cryptocurrencies fit in.
What are cryptocurrencies and how are they used to monetize data?
Each tiny piece of data isn’t worth much on its own, but combined with many other pieces of related data it becomes very valuable. Like currency, this value is determined by market demand and public confidence in the data. Because no U.S. dollars or equivalent government-backed currency is used to trade data data stamped to the blockchain, digital “tokens” are used as a currency to trade data on the network.
Like government-backed currencies in the stock market, the value of these tokens will be set by the rate they sell for on cryptocurrency exchanges. Using third-party cryptocurrency exchanges, tokens can be cashed out for U.S. dollars or another government-backed currency.
In this way, the value of the data lies in its mass appeal and diversity. The larger the data network grows, the more usable the available data sets, the more valuable the tokens become.
So who gets to own this network?
Nobody gets to own the network. It is a free public ledger that allows data points to be connected to broader datasets while allowing only the data owners to control if, how and when it is used and monetized. The network code is open sourced, allowing any for-profit companies or non-profit organizations to interact with it.
In order to build the network and facilitate ethical sharing, The Ethical Data Alliance, a project of Green Aid: The Medical Marijuana Legal Defense and Education Fund, a 501(c)3 federal non-profit organization, is working on a white paper and a pilot in order to develop the network.
EDA encourages competition in the form of other non-profit and for-profit companies accessing and interacting with this network – which is owned by no one – as widespread participation and competition enriches the data itself and makes the network more valuable to everyone who uses it, not to mention more equitable and ethical.
So what does the Ethical Data Alliance do?
The Ethical Data Alliance brings together cannabis industry operators to create and enforce contractual codes of conduct for ethical data sharing with the goal of learning and educating. Data owners who choose to be EDA members can trade and interact with other EDA members with confidence that the same set of ethical standards are met.
The EDA pools together member-donated data to provide reports back to them based on the interlinking data they share. These reports can also be purchased by the public in order to support the operations of the EDA. Additionally, larger pools of data – with a vote of the members – can be used to contribute to research initiatives that result in the public release of conclusions reached by that data that is in the public interest.
The EDA will also maintain protocols for ethical documentation and sharing of previously unquantifiable information, such as product integrity and the veracity of equity applicants and operators. As an alliance, the EDA will work with all stakeholders to produce these protocols for standardized data collection that produces better data sets.
What is the practical application for the cannabis industry?
There is no common and accepted understanding of “strains”, however all the data exists to better understand them and rocket research past its current plateau. Using a blockchain network, cannabis growers who purchase a new clone can pay others who have grown it to compare the growing methods and conditions, final yields and chemical testing of different farmers verified to have grown and harvested the exact same (or similar) genetics. They could also see how users and other businesses evaluated the final product. This is valuable information for a grower wanting to grow or breed new varieties, and helps everyone that grows the variety and reviews the data to better refine their processes and better understand the plant’s characteristics and chemical abilities.
This is just the beginning. As EDEN grows, data can leveraged to answer all the biggest questions in cannabis cultivation, law and medicine.
