Oklahoma Cannabis Businesses: It’s Time to Get Compliant with Metrc

By Genevieve Meehan

May 4, 2022

Following the resolution of a year-long lawsuit in Oklahoma between medical marijuana commercial licensees and co-defendants Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) and Metrc, OMMA is moving forward with implementing a statewide track-and-trace system to monitor all medical marijuana and medical marijuana products being grown, processed, transported, tested, and sold in the State of Oklahoma. 

By May 26, 2022, every commercial cannabis licensee must be Metrc-compliant. This means that by May 26, all seeds, plants, and products must be tagged and tracked. By the given date, all licensees must use Metrc to track inventory, transfers, waste, and sales, including patients and caregivers.

Dispensaries must also be fully Metrc-compliant by May 26, though they have through August 24 to sell or legally dispose of any untagged items still in inventory on May 26. New untagged inventory must not be obtained after May 26. Untagged sales must still be conducted using Metrc’s external transfer function from May 27 to August 24, 2022.

All existing inventory without COAs in Metrc has three pathways to Metrc compliance:

1. Growers, processors and dispensaries can ask the testing laboratory to upload existing COAs into Metrc by July 25. Growers, processors and dispensaries cannot upload the COA directly, but the lab can

2. A licensee can add testing information to Metrc’s “Notes” section, then transfer or sell it to a dispensary by July 25. OMMA has a printable flowchart for this process. The notes must include the testing laboratory name, the sample number and the tests passed

   • If the product remains in the inventory of a grower or processor without a COA after July 25, it won’t be Metrc-compliant unless it’s re-tested and a new COA is uploaded into Metrc

3. If the lab doesn’t upload the COA in Metrc, then the products must be re-tested, and the testing laboratory can upload the new COA into Metrc on or after July 25

Every licensee must register with Metrc, and the owner must complete the new business training no later than May 26, 2022. Once training is complete, licensees may access the support page for informational, self-paced learning modules for additional training.

To ensure a smooth transition into Metrc, see the tips below:

Helpful Tips to Become Fully Operational Within Metrc 

Initial Training Sign Up

• The Metrc New Business Training is available on the Metrc Training Scheduler. Recorded trainings may be accessed through the Metrc Learn platform 

Training and Credentialing Access to Metrc Accounts

• After the New Business Training has been completed by the owner/admin, you may reach out to Metrc support to receive credentials. You will then receive a welcome email to complete the Metrc account setup

• Check out options for both required and optional training on the OMMA website

Beginning Inventory

• Licensees with the proper credentials will gain access to the Beginning Inventory Guide, which outlines the steps to enter the initial plant and/or package inventory into the system

• Beginning inventory must be completely reported into Metrc by May 26, 2022

Become Fully Operational in Metrc by May 26, 2022

• On May 26, 2022, the beginning inventory entry period will close, and licensees will be required to report all inventory transactions directly into Metrc from now on

Please note that the current monthly reporting process will continue through at least May 31, even as businesses transition to full Metrc-compliance. The last template with activity through May 31 is due June 15.

OMMA indicated that on May 27, the bulk of the organization's enforcement authority will focus on businesses that are not Metrc-compliant. 

If you have questions about Metrc implementation in Oklahoma, or are seeking guidance on best practices for inventory management systems in any state, please reach out to VS’s National Compliance Team. FAQs can also be found on Metrc’s website.