KushCo sells stickers to help marijuana companies track their products throughout the supply chain. Courtesy Photo C hinese manufacturers have been knocking off high-end products for years-think Louis Vuitton bags, Air Jordan sneakers and Rolex watches. Now, they've gone one step further: making counterfeit cannabis packaging that's helping to bolster the illicit market. Often, the counterfeit packaging looks so much like the real thing that consumers believe they're purchasing a legitimate product that has been lab tested to comply with state laws such as those governing mold and pesticides. To combat bogus packaging, many cannabis companies are turning to technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and tamperproof holograms and incorporating them into their packaging. Brothers Vicken and Shant Jabourian, co-founders of the San Diego-based anti-counterfeiting and brand-protection company CannVerify, said that before they sell the company's tamper-proof holographic seals with unique QR codes, they verify the business they are selling to is legitimate. To avoid selling its seals to illegitimate businesses, CannVerify: * Confirms that emails come from an official company domain. * Checks the company's license number against state records. * Asks to see the company's physical product line and packaging. * Tracks where the products are sold. * Looks at social media to ensure the company has a history and is credible. " The source for the fake packaging is China, " Vicken Jabourian said. " You have the manufacturers making packaging for legitimate businesses and counterfeiters asking to reproduce the packaging. " August 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 63http://www.mjbizdaily.com