Oklahoma’s seed-to-sale tracking system is expected to be implemented in 90 days following a deal between the state and the lawyers behind a lawsuit challenging the technology’s adoption as a monopoly, The Oklahoman reports.
Under the deal, the state’s medical dispensaries will have 180 days to sell or dispose of any product that has not been tagged for the system, and the state Medical Marijuana Authority will hold at least five seminars to educate businesses about the system and provide trained employees who can answer questions about the tracking technology, which is provided by Metrc.
Ronald Durbin, who represented Dr. Z Leaf Cultivation, told the Oklahoman that the plaintiffs “got everything [they] wanted” except for resolving who would pay for the tags utilized by the system for tracking plants and products. Under the Metrc contract, businesses must pay for those tags, which Metrc indicated would cost about $705 annually. Metrc also charges businesses $40 per month for using the service.
“One of the things that we were happiest about is we got a firm commitment and an order that orders OMMA to aggressively enforce the seed-to-sell requirement against non-compliant businesses.” – Durbin to the Oklahoman
Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Director Adria Berry said lifting the injunction “is going to clear the single biggest roadblock” regulators have faced attempting to enforce parts of the state’s medical cannabis law.
“It’s going to help us with that chain of custody of every single product in the state,” Berry told the Oklahoman following the end of the nearly year-long legal battle. “If there is a product that is not in the seed-to-sale tracking system, then it is not legal – and we will be able to discover that quickly.”
Oklahoma lawmakers and cannabis regulators have been trying to reign in unregulated cannabis production that is occurring under the guise of legal medical cannabis operations. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics reported that from April 2021 through February 9, 2022, it has disbanded 85 farms that were operating without state approval. A bill proposed in the state House aims to pause medical cannabis licensing in the state with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Rusty Cornwell, saying officials need to “confirm current operations are complying with the law.”
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