Cannabis Tracking: Major Flaws Revealed in Washington State

Washington, the first state to approve marijuana use recreationally in the US, alongside Colorado, still lacks a system to properly track cannabis from production through processing to retail sale, the Office of the Washington State Auditor confirmed in an audit.

‘A ‘seed-to-sale’ tracking system has been under development for 12 years, but has yet to be fully realised,’ State Auditor Pat McCarthy said. In the meantime, several other states, which legalised recreational cannabis after Washington, now operate full-service seed-to-sale tracking systems.

Washington’s journey with cannabis tracking systems has been complex, involving multiple vendors, as well as three management changes within the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB).

The first vendor, BioTrack, was awarded a contract in 2013 by LCB. However, four years later, LCB announced plans to transition to a new supplier, Leaf Data Systems. Some of the reasons for the transition related to cost concerns, a desire for greater flexibility (BioTrack’s system was considered somewhat rigid), advancements in traceability technology (Leaf Data Systems was offering enhanced data integration and compliance tools), and user dissatisfaction with interfaces and reporting processes.