West Virginia’s Office of Medical Cannabis has contracted with Metrc to provide the state’s track-and-trace system. The system enables licensee staff to enter information related to cannabis plants and products – and enables the Office to review this data and verify compliance with state regulations. Metrc will configure our track-and-trace system to West Virginia’s rules over the next few months, train both state and industry users, and then launch the system in the Spring of 2021. We will make more information available as we deliver key project milestones – including system access, training classes, and user guides. Metrc provides our track-and-trace solution in 14 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia and has been providing supply chain solutions since 1993. We look forward to partnering with the businesses and State of West Virginia to ensure a safe and secure medical marijuana market.
Metrc is essentially a centralized database of every cannabis plant and product in the legal marketplace – including where they are, where they came from, and how they tested. Licensees attach unique, serialized tags to every plant or wholesale package. These tags feature readable text, barcodes, and RFID chips to uniquely identify each plant and package – both physically and digitally in Metrc’s online software. Users then enter information related to those plants and packages, such as unit of measure, quantity, transfer of custody, test results, and sale in our online software platform. That information is available to the licensee and the Office of Medical Cannabis.
No. Licensees will only be able to access their own information through Metrc. They will not be able see any information about any other licensee unless they are doing business with another licensee. For example, when a manufacturer transfers a package to a dispensary, the dispensary would be able to see the package information and lab results from the manufacturer prior to accepting the inventory into their account.
Licensees must use Metrc to track cannabis plants and products. A licensee can input required data directly into Metrc through the user interface or by uploading Comma-Separated Values (CSV) files. Some licensees choose to use third-party software providers that integrate into Metrc via our Application Programming Interface (API).
We hope to launch the system in the Spring of 2021 but are developing a more detailed timeline now with the Office of Medical Cannabis. We will publish that timeline on this page when available.
Metrc’s track-and-trace system relies on two main components: physical tags and online software. Licensees use our tags to uniquely identify cannabis products and use our software to enter any information related to those products. Metrc tags are produced through our proprietary process, designed to meet the unique environmental conditions for marijuana cultivation, manufacturing, and retail. Since licensees aren’t responsible for printing their own tags, they can focus on their core business and avoid large costs, such as printing equipment, supplies, and labor to assemble, test, and input tracking tags. This is all handled by Metrc to keep the costs to licensees affordable and proportional to the size of their business. Our cloud-based software requires an internet connection and a computer. There is no additional hardware required or new software to download, install or maintain. However, Metrc features an open Application Programming Interface (API), so licensees may use other enterprise software, like Point of Sale (POS) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, that integrate into Metrc.
There are two types of licensee charges for Metrc’s system: one for the software and one for the physical tracking tags. Metrc charges $40 per month per license reporting fee for access to the Metrc platform and for ongoing training, support, and maintenance. (Note: this is a per license, not per user, charge.) Licensees are able to use other enterprise software that integrates into Metrc, but licensees must still pay the $40 per month charge. The reporting fee will only apply after the licensee is granted access to the software. Additionally, Metrc charges $0.45 per plant tag and $0.25 per package tag. These costs are designed to be very affordable and scale with the size of the business. Licensees will be able to purchase tags after they are granted access to the system. There are no hidden fees or large one-time costs to use Metrc.
Metrc will provide a list of validated third-party integrators as we get closer to go-live. You can look at other Metrc state pages for an example of what this list will look like. If you choose to work with a validated integrator, Metrc will provide you with an API key to provide to your software provider; this will grant the provider permission to input data into the track-and-trace system on your behalf. You will still be responsible for ensuring that this data is accurate and up to date.
No. Licensees can input sales data directly into Metrc through the user interface or upload CSV files. However, licensees have the option to use third-party enterprise software that may better suit their business needs.
Metrc will be publishing information and a schedule of events in the coming weeks. Please check back on the Metrc page periodically for updates. In the meantime you can look at the Metrc videos on our YouTube channel for supplemental training videos.
Metrc has a dedicated team of support staff who will be available to resolve any technical support issues. The support desk can be contacted via phone at 877-566-6506 or via email at [email protected] between 9am and 7pm CT .
No. The tags feature codes that act as unique identifiers, and these codes are forever tied to the plant or product. Reusing the tags would result in multiple plants or packages having the same unique identifier, which would hinder the Office of Medical Cannabis’s ability to properly investigate or recall products. This traceability is necessary for ensuring public health and safety – and keeping an individual and immutable record of every cannabis plant and product on the market.