Metrc: Michigan

Metrc Michigan

Michigan legalized medical-use cannabis in 2008 with the Michigan Compassionate Care Initiative. Ten years later, they passed recreational marijuana legislation through the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act in 2018.

Metrc won the medical marijuana tracking software contract in 2017. In August 2018, Metrc began operating and working with licensed cannabis businesses in the state. Then with Michigan’s passing of adult-use legislation, Metrc Michigan began supporting the additional group of Michigan cannabis licenses in December 2019.

Michigan Metrc Compliance

Michigan MRA (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) was created to regulate Michigan’s adult-use cannabis operators. The MRA oversees the cannabis industry in the state, including all growers, microbusinesses, dispensaries or provisioning centers, secure transporters, consumption lounges and events. MRA sees Metrc compliance as crucial to having real-time access to all cannabis activity in Michigan.

Seed to sale means tracking a marijuana plant, from its first planting, to its sale, when a consumer or patient purchases the marijuana products at a dispensary or provisioning center.* The compliance statewide reporting system allows for full visibility and transparency, with the state’s primary goal to prevent illicit sale and movement of cannabis.

The compliance information that is reported to the state via the Metrc system includes seed or clone purchase, germination dates, planting and harvest dates, strains and batch numbers, harvest batch numbers, testing records, and the contact information of other cannabis business owners that you worked with.

*According to Michigan state law, a provisioning center licensed under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA) may not refer to itself as a “dispensary” and may not use the word “dispensary” in its advertising.

Metrc Training in Michigan

Cannabis businesses in Michigan must all undergo official Metrc training. Sign up on www.metrc.com/michigan. The site has a button, ‘Training Signup’, that takes you to a page where you’ll enter your license number. In addition, Metrc will announce any in-person training on a bulletin on their site.

3rd party consultancies like our friends at RMCC (Rocky Mountain Cannabis Consulting ) provide Metrc training, compliance audit and general Metrc support to the cannabis industry across the US. Considering how sparse Metrc’s library of videos/articles is, it may be a good idea to seek supplemental training and assistance elsewhere.

What is Metrc?

Metrc (Marijuana Enforcement Tracking Reporting & Compliance), founded in 2013, is contracted by states with medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis regulations to provide track-and-trace compliance software. These states have the requirement to track cannabis product from cultivation all the way to the end customer or patient.

The statewide monitoring system ensures compliance data is collected for all cannabis plant and cannabis product movement. Metrc uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags and serialized item tracking.

The company behind Metrc has decades of experience building RFID technology in industries like food and pharmaceuticals, where regulatory compliance is a priority . Each state with cannabis regulations has accepted proposals from software vendors to provide traceability software. Metrc is one of several software vendors that provide governments a centralized software system from which they can get real time data on cannabis activity that’s entered into Metrc via RFID tags.

Costs involved in Michigan Metrc

In Michigan, all licensees must pay a $40 monthly support fee. This covers Metrc support and training. Licensees must also purchase the tags for their plants and marijuana products. Cannabis plant tags are $0.45 per tag while package tags are $0.25 per tag.

To read more about costs involved in Michigan Metrc and Metrc tags, see Metrc’s support bulletin.

Where is Metrc located?

Metrc headquarters is located in Lakeland, FL.

Who owns Metrc software?

Metrc used to be owned by Franwell. However, it has now changed its official company name to Metrc LLC.

Top 4 Tips to Stay Compliant

It’s critical that your company stays compliant with state regulations and the requirements to report to the Michigan Metrc system. The following are the top 4 tips to stay compliant with Michigan Metrc.

Perform regular inventory management + reconciliation
Train yourself and others on your team
Create a culture of compliance
Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

While there are 3rd party resources out there to help ease the learning curve, always consult with Metrc state regulators for the most up to date and accurate information.

How Software can Help

Trym automates compliance with the Metrc system per Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) requirements. While some smaller cannabis businesses choose to enter information by hand or upload spreadsheets into Metrc, others enlist the help of a 3rd party seed to sale software company, like Trym.

Automation centralizes data in an organization and encourages productivity and increases efficiency. Trym connects to the state system via Metrc API. The connection streamlines reporting data to Metrc and to the state. But instead of inputting data into Metrc, cultivators use Trym for its better usability and added value from business management tools like task management and crop steering for higher yields. Digital scales like Ohaus integrate seamlessly into software to make harvesting marijuana flower a breeze and ensure accuracy.