Metrc, South Dakota establish medical cannabis market regulation pact

Cannabis regulatory system provider Metrc has established a contract with the state of South Dakota to support the state’s medical cannabis market regulation efforts.

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“As South Dakota continues to ramp up their recently implemented medical cannabis market, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to spearhead the state’s first-ever track-and-trace program,” Metrc CEO Jeff Wells said. “Our team at Metrc is looking forward to working closely with the Departments of Health and Revenue, state regulators, and licensed operators to implement a strong regulatory framework that will effectively guide South Dakota’s newly emerging medical market down the path to success.”

The firm’s track-and-trace platform would facilitate the state’s medical cannabis program’s data collection and regulatory oversight initiatives while enabling licensed operators to track activities impacting the status of a plant or the creation of cannabis-based products.

The origin, testing results, handling, and chain-of-custody information of plants harvested and packaged or combined with other plants in the production of oils, edibles, concentrates, and other CPG cannabis products will be visible and traceable through Metrc’s proprietary radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag model.

Metrc possesses exclusive government contracts in every region of the nation – acknowledging while the areas have diverse regulatory frameworks, each jurisdiction maintains the common goal of ensuring a safe, legal cannabis market.