Tracking Troubles

Columns - Debby Talks Tracking

Is seed-to-sale tracking helping or hurting the industry?

June 19, 2018

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What’s Out There





Cons of Current Tracking Systems

Then there’s Metrc—an actual seed-to-sale tracking system designed to feed all data into one system so states can track each seedling through its life cycle and at every step along the way until it is sold at a dispensary. Alaska, California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon and Washington, D.C., all use Metrc to track their state’s cannabis. Each individual POS or seed-to-sale tracking system used by cultivators, processors and dispensary owners in those states is required to drop data directly into Metrc. That said, California’s rollout of the Metrc system (which was scheduled for July 2018) has been delayed due to launch challenges.

Metrc uses an open application processing interface (API), which allows different software platforms to communicate in a common language. However, the system, like many comprehensive tracking systems, is complicated and requires that everyone in the supply chain use Metrc-supplied tracking labels for all plants and products as they make their way to consumers. This can create issues, as waiting to receive the proper labels can cause weeks of delays. Another problem is that existing tracking systems used by cultivators, retailers and manufacturers are not always compatible with Metrc. Simply put, the open API does not match, rendering the systems ineffective. Certainly this is not the fault of Metrc, as its competitors in the space, including BioTrackTHC and MJ Freeway, are under no obligation to assure their customer-facing POS systems match with a competitor’s.

As my buddy, a licensed cultivator near Las Vegas, told me, “I have [spent] hundreds of hours updating and creating transfers, ... adjusting entries and just fixing discrepancies.” He advises operators to designate one reliable employee to be the Metrc point person, advice that would seem to benefit operators dealing with any seed-to-sale tracking system. “You need someone to develop a relationship with a tech support person,” he says, so that you can reach someone directly in case of a problem and not have to wait for a response from customer service, which can take upwards of 72 hours.

Having recently attended California’s state-mandated Metrc training, I’m concerned about the burdens created by this new state-mandated system. This is marijuana after all, not heroin. By insisting on treating cannabis as a dangerous substance, and making states place such burdensome requirements on operators, the federal government encourages a long-lasting underground market—as many operators simply are not equipped to work with complicated compliance systems. In my opinion, states need to rethink the importance they place on seed-to-sale tracking, which only fuels the continuation of years of stigma around marijuana.

Cannabis should be regulated based on its potential to harm public health and safety, treating it similar to alcohol at worst. Alcohol is not tracked from seed to sale; why should cannabis be? While states obviously must walk a delicate line between establishing their own laws that run counter to federal law, seed-to-sale tracking alone is not the answer.