Metrc and track and trace have been in California cannabis for years at this point, but many operators still, understandably, have questions about Metrc and track-and-trace. Juli Crockett, MMLG’s director of compliance fields TnT questions from clients on a weekly if not daily basis and, seemingly, so do state regulators because the Dept. of Agriculture (in conjunction with the BCC) just posted a handy FAQ on Track-and-Trace. Here are the basics on Metrc and track-and-trace in California.

Metrc and Track-and-Trace are about compliance and safety

Just like audits or lab testing, track-and-trace comes down to ensuring consumer safety and business accountability. Its primary purpose is built right in its name, track (regulators want to be able to track each specific plant) and trace (regulators want to be able to trace a given plant’s sourcing). Why? Well, for a lot of reasons but primarily:

• Consumer safety. State regulators want to be certain that consumers are getting what they paid for. Just like any other consumable product –a tube of toothpaste, a bottle of booze, some chicken from a grocer– regulators want to be able to find out where the cannabis came from if something turns up wrong and a user gets sick or not high or whatever.
• Business accountability: Track-and-trace has been implemented to more effectively hold businesses accountable for their inventory. No matter where they are on the supply chain, TnT demands a higher level of tracking and accountability for all plants. “Seed to sale” isn’t just a catchy phrase, it literally means that regulators are utilizing Track-and-Trace (and Metrc) to hopefully track plants from seed to sale.

“What’s Metrc and what does it have to do with Track-and-Trace?”

Metrc is a brand that makes end-to-end tracking solutions for cannabis. They largely are platformed off of RFID technology. California’s Track-and-Trace program is built off of the RFID and tagging tech from Metrc. You need a licensed account holder to manage your company’s TnT information from Metrc. (Don’t worry there’s also a training program!) Additionally, anyone using Metrc needs a unique ID code.

No party like a Track-and-Trace party, ‘cuz Track-and-Trace is absolutely MANDATORY!

Y’know the line about how “We’re not in the cannabis business anymore, we’re in the compliance business”? Legalization has brought about a sea change of policies, regulations and licenses; and Track-and-Trace is another one. TnT is required by the state of California, even if you’re already working with a track-and-trace program on the local level. The good news? There’s an API that you can install that should afford the state system to play nice with your given local tracking system.

Metrc (and track-and-trace) aren’t going anywhere

Legalization is expanding and here to stay. With the non-emergency regulations launched and more and more municipalities in California (and across the U.S.) legalizing, the future’s never looked brighter for a legal cannabis industry. But that comes with costs and regulations. Track-and-Trace is something your business should get very familiar with, if you have questions just ask the experts at MMLG.