In 2020, the state of Oklahoma sought a seed-to-sale tracking system provider for its booming medical marijuana industry. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) believed a proper tracking system would encourage the ethical and effective distribution of the medicine. Thus, Metrc was brought into the mix.
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Many states, including California and Michigan, already use Metrc (Marijuana Enforcement, Tracking, Reporting & Compliance) as their seed-to-sale tracking system. Following other legalized states, the standardization of Oklahoma's cannabis industry should contribute to improvements in product quality, greater ethical practices, and increased respect for the plant itself.
All cannabis license holders in the state of Oklahoma have until Thursday, May 26th, 2022 to become Metrc compliant. From that point on, any non-compliant business can have its license removed. Keep reading to learn what it takes to run a Metrc compliant cannabis grow.
The Benefits of Metrc Compliance
One of the industry-wide benefits of implementing Metrc is the reliable regulation and reporting of cannabis production. Compliance means transparency. Everyone, from direct consumer to state committee, will have a better understanding of each product, its testing results, and where it came from.
This transparency also promotes safety within the industry. Without a standardized way of tracking testing results, it's difficult for dispensaries to offer accurate information to their patients, who rely on accurate testing to properly dose their medicine. Cultivators and dispensaries will also benefit from having a standardized inventory tracking system. Every license holder will be able to account for their own strain availability and updates.
It’s true that regulations will vary from state to state, whether recreational or medicinal cannabis is legal. Fortunately, Metrc is intentional about meeting those regulatory expectations and working with cannabis businesses accordingly.
How To Run a Metrc Compliant Cannabis Grow
Running a Metrc compliant cannabis grow starts with education. A representative (or, most likely, multiple representatives) from your cannabis business will need to become certified in the system’s compliance standards. They will learn how to process and account for Metrc tags through every level of business operations.
After learning the terminology, compliance expectations, and more, your representative will take a test to ensure they retained the information. Once you have a designated certified Metrc representative, you can start thinking about purchasing the tags and managing the inventory accordingly.
As soon as a cannabis plant enters the cultivation space, it will need a tag. Yellow Metrc tags indicate recreational use, and blue Metrc tags indicate medical use. When plants are transferred to another cultivator or a processor, or when they’re packaged to be sold to customers, they will need yet another Metrc tag. Metrc tags on packaged products will be in the form of a sticker designating its compliance. Each tag will include the name of the facility, the facility’s license number, a unique identification number (UIN), tag order date, and the specification of whether the plant will be used for medicine or recreation.
Each Metrc tag costs a cannabis business $0.25 - $0.45. For a grow with 10,000 plants, that can cost up to $4,500 just to start. It’s therefore essential to budget for Metrc compliance sooner rather than later.
Most cannabis growing operations work with inventory management software such as GrowFlow or Cultivera. It’s the responsibility of each license holder to ensure those software systems are properly integrated with Metrc’s system by the deadline (Thursday, May 26th, 2022). This can be done either manually or automatically. If you choose to go the route of automatically uploading your inventory from your point-of-sale to Metrc, be prepared. It’s going to be your responsibility to ensure everything is up-to-date and accurate in the Metrc system.
We’re excited to take part in this transition, as we become a Metrc-compliant industry statewide. We encourage you to reach out to us for more details about our facility’s inventory management or our strain list.
