Oregon was one of the first to legalize medical marijuana and legalized recreational marijuana in 2015. Since then, business owners have helped cultivate a new industry that brings in millions worth of taxes and revenue. But the process is not necessarily easy. Oregon cannabis regulation requires strict compliance or else risk massive fines or even felony possession charges.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has jurisdiction over all licensed facilities and businesses engaging with cannabis growth, processing and sales. Every one of those licensed businesses has to work with Metrc
What is Metrc?
According to Metrc’s own website, the Metrc Cannabis Tracking System is the chief component in Oregon’s compliance regulations. It is a national company that many states commission to keep track of a cannabis business’s growth. This involves digital tracking tools to manage inventory and shipping needs as well as oversight between the many licensed facilities.
What does seed to sale mean?
Metrc is in charge of tracking everything about the cannabis industry. Cultivators grow marijuana plants and each cannabis plant must be tracked; each must have an identifier, that identifier must be in a database, and that database has to work with any other system the cultivators work with. Once grown, companies sell marijuana to processors or dispensaries. At processors, licensed businesses manufacture cannabis products from the plants. This requires strict labeling and, again, tracking between distribution. Once at a dispensary, that business has the authority to sell to customers. Depending on the laws of a county, a business may need to track each individual customer and how much they buy to avoid selling more than is legal to them in a day.
All this track requires a great deal of scrutiny, diligence and awareness. But the reward may be worth it for any business willing to put the time into forming their business appropriately, applying through all the right channels for the correct license and maintaining a routine of compliance with state law.