How Does Metrc Work?
Updated
What Metrc Is & How It Works
The Metrc platform is a reporting system that tracks licensed marijuana businesses for state regulatory bodies, to manage and report supply chain activities as required by local rules. How does this traceability system work?
How Metrc Works
Metrc uses radio frequency identification technology to track cannabis plants and products throughout the seed-to-sale pipeline. This monitors the movement of cannabis within a legal market with the use of plant tags featuring Unique Identifier (UID) codes.
Metrc monitors the weight, location, and transfers of cannabis through a cloud-based traceability system designed for regulatory agencies within a given state.
Licensed cannabis operations submit data regularly to the Metrc system in order to remain legally compliant with their state licensing agency.
Every state in the network has different regulations and workflows. This means operators will need to know the details specific to their location. As a validated software provider, Cultivera integrates with every available API Metrc offers, making it easier to stay compliant with your local regulatory body.
What States Use Metrc?
Currently, seventeen US territories currently use Metrc as their cannabis traceability solution. All cannabis operators in these states must submit data into the system on a regular basis. This is required for them to remain legally compliant with their state licensing agency.
States within this network as of this publication include: Alaska; California; Colorado; Louisiana; Massachusetts; Maine; Maryland; Michigan; Missouri; Montana; Nevada; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; and DC.
But Metrc is being adopted by more states every quarter.
Why Traceability Matters
In general, track-and-trace services are meant to prevent legal cannabis from being diverted into the black market or illegal sales.
By using traceability software, regulatory bodies can monitor the movements of cannabis plants and products within their market, ensuring that operators are staying compliant with local laws and regulations. Failure to maintain compliance can result in hefty fines, license suspension, or license revocation.
Metrc‘s purpose is to serve as a reporting and tracking system for regulatory agencies looking to prevent the illegal sale of cannabis. The system has a proven track record of assisting regulatory bodies in identifying bad actors and deterring subversion from the legal regulated markets.
Staying Compliant
All licensed operators within Metrc state markets are responsible for staying on top of their track-and-trace reporting from seed to sale.
On top of consistent data entry and reporting, Cultivation enterprises need to purchase plant and inventory tags directly from Metrc, which are assigned to plants and products. If a plant or product doesn’t have a unique identifier tag at any point, it is not compliant.
Failure to stay compliant with any local regulations through designated track-and-trace systems like Metrc can lead to fines or license suspension at the least.
This means prioritizing your Metrc compliance is a must.
Cultivera makes this compliance easy, tracking your plant tag UIDs throughout the seed to sale cycle.
Learn more about your state compliance requirements on the Metrc website.
