Cannabis In The News

Metrc Launches Sustainable Tags for Seed-to-Sale Cannabis Tracking

Metrc, one of the two leading providers of technology systems for the regulation of cannabis in the United States, has announced the launch of its sustainable radio frequency identification (RFID) plant tags, designed to reduce waste while maintaining durability and RFID efficiency.

All seed-to-sale cannabis tracking systems are based on software that uses serialised plant tags and labels attached to packages, from wholesale to retail point of sale. Tags are attached to every plant to track them through different stages of seed to sale, including the curing process. These tags have RFID chips that render the plastic used to make the tag unrecyclable – a sticking point for people in the industry who want to make it more sustainable.

Hence the move by Metrc to address this issue with its new, paper-based tags.

To ensure the success and adoption of the tags, Metrc is initiating a pilot test programme for select state agencies and licensees to provide feedback on the tag’s design and performance.

Licensee participants will receive pilot test instructions, together with plant tags and straps shipped directly to their facility, free of charge, along with dedicated support to track feedback throughout the testing process, including completion of the programme.

The sustainable tags contain 30% post- consumer waste, 10% hemp, and 60% responsibly sourced Forest Stewardship Council certified virgin paper fibre.

Apart from using recycled materials, the tags use one-third less material than the current tags. Metrc’s engineers have developed a production system that requires just two layers of material, rather than three, while maintaining the safe housing and protection of the tamperproof inlay.

The tags will have, on average, a shelf-life of nine months and can perform in the field for the duration of the plant’s standard growth-to-harvest cycle. Based on initial testing, the new sustainable tag read range is 17% more effective than the current tags, according to Metrc.

Following the pilot programme, the company expects to officially launch the tag solution in 2023, with a complete transition planned for 2024.

Metrc is a government-facing technology system, meaning that it reports directly to state compliance programmes. The system is currently deployed under 23 different government contracts, including in Alaska, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Guam, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

New York Selects BioTrack for Cannabis Track and Trace

The US state of New York, meanwhile, has selected the other leading provider of seed- to-sale cannabis track and trace systems, Forian Inc, with its BioTrack technology, to monitor the movement of cannabis as it is grown, manufactured into other products, packaged, tested, and sold to qualifying patients or consumers. The system will also serve to prevent adulterated and regulated materials from reaching the illicit market.

Cannabis business licensees at all levels – from cultivation to retail – will be required to input data about the products they’re growing, buying and selling, which all feed into a unified data tracking system.

‘If a cultivation facility buys 1,000 seeds, workers there have to enter that into the BioTrack system, and the bag of seeds will receive a 16-digit identifier. If that facility plants 200 seeds from the bag, each of those 200 seeds has to be entered in and receive its own 16-digit tag. From there, a new identification code is created each time the product is broken down,’ explained Moe Afaneh, Forian’s Chief Operating Officer.

BioTrack’s point-of-sale software is used by customers in 38 states and 13 countries, while 12 state governments, including New York, currently use BioTrack’s traceability or patient portal system. The company won its first state-wide seed-to-sale contract in 2013 with the state of Washington.

According to an April 2022 report by Grownin.com, 50% of US states with legal cannabis and the District of Columbia were using Metrc, and 23% were using BioTrack – figures which have no doubt shifted since then.

While Metrc is a government-facing system, BioTrack offers both government- and business-facing seed-to-sale software. According to koronapos.com, consolidated cannabis businesses that cultivate, process, package, and sell their product completely in-house, will need a business-facing system such as BioTrack.

On the other hand, retail-only dispensary businesses, which are just concerned with keeping track of their inventory, should synchronise their product and sales data with Metrc, or whatever government track and trace system they are using.