Metrc integration in Alaska

This article will get you oriented as for where we are with Metrc integration process for commercial marijuana establishments in the State of Alaska.  

Doing business with Marijuana Industry Participants would require a use of marijuana inventory tracking system capable of sharing information with the system the board implements to ensure all marijuana cultivated and sold in the state, and each marijuana product processed and sold in the state, is identified and tracked from the time the marijuana is propagated from seed or cutting, through transfer to another licensed facility, to a completed sale of marijuana or marijuana product, or disposal of marijuana product. 

IndicaOnline and Metrc seed-to-sale tracking software program has contracted with the state of Alaska to help them meet federal requirements.

In order to be consistent in enacting the tracking system in a proper manner, the federal government has given Alaska a couple of memorandums that outline and give guidance to follow the robust state regulations for all adults 21 years of age and over (owner, employee, or agent of marijuana facility) with a current, valid registration to be able to conduct:

• Cultivating, manufacturing, harvesting, processing, packaging, storing, displaying, purchasing, transporting, or possessing marijuana or marijuana products;
• Transferring of marijuana to a person who is 21 years of age or older;
• Receiving marijuana or marijuana products from a marijuana testing facility;
• Purchasing marijuana or marijuana products from a marijuana cultivation facility;
•  Purchasing marijuana or marijuana products from a marijuana products manufacturing facility;
• Distributing, or selling marijuana or marijuana products to the consumer;
• Returning marijuana products to a marijuana cultivation facility, marijuana retail store, marijuana product manufacturer, or a person 21 years of age or older. 

Each licensee, employee, or agent of the cannabis industry, who sells marijuana products, or who checks the identification of a consumer or visitor, has to have a $50 Marijuana Handler Permit valid for three years from the date of issue from the board before being licensed or beginning employment in the marijuana industry in Alaska.  

To begin your registration process, you would need to go to The Commercial Marijuana Establishment Licenses System to access an electronic application on the myAlaska portal.

You would also need to give your local government early notification that you are going to apply for the commercial marijuana license because the local government has local control. Therefore, they can have their own sets of rules, they can even have their own license.

Unlike some of the sister states, who determines what businesses get licenses based on certain aspects, the state of Alaska basing sustainable decisions on information provided by the board’s review of a complex and thorough document (your operating plan) explaining exactly how your business is going to meet not only state requirements but also the federal government’s requirements accordingly.   

What do you need to know? 

• All marijuana delivered to the licensed facility must be weighed on a certified scale;
• A licensed marijuana retail store may transport marijuana or marijuana products to another marijuana retail store;
• An individual transporting marijuana in compliance with the state regulations must have a required marijuana handler permit;
• When the licensed facility receives marijuana or marijuana products, they need to use Metrc to report the type, amount, and weight of marijuana products received;
• The licensed recipient must not accept any shipment of marijuana or marijuana products that are not accompanied by the transport manifest. 

If the board approves your application, you are not done yet because you are getting into an active status that enables you to get credentialed into Metrc. After completing the required training, an approved annual licensee will be credentialed into Metrc and will report supply chain activities (Metrc enabled). So, Metrc is only going to let licensees in who’ve been to the Board and whose license has been approved. 

Once you have been approved for your annual business license, you have gotten your training with Metrc and you have completed your login credentials, you can start tracking your cannabis sales through Metric.

Integration:

With your existing IndicaOnline software, Metrc has created an API (Application Programming Interface) key that would allow your Indica account to be integrated with your Metrc account.

The lack of proper reporting in Metrc leads to loss of direction in the achievement of the desired goal to remain compliant. Proper reporting ensures accurate inventory management, so you can avoid any discrepancies issues. Luckily, IndicaOnline is the only system that reports any inventory changes instantly. 

In order to report in Metrc correctly, you have to follow these simple guidelines:

• Usable marijuana has to be reported in grams;
• Edible marijuana has to be reported in units;
• Deli-style marijuana is sold and tracked by weight in grams;
• Pre-weighed and pre-packaged cannabis flower or pre-rolled joints can be sold in units, but reported in Weight;
• Concentrates: you check them in as grams, but you sell them as pieces, so the Net Weight should be declared to have checked in products reported in weight;
• You are responsible for what you have put into the system;
• Your Indica account accurately reports what is going on to your inventory to your Metrc account, but not vice versa;
• Products being checked in to Metrc must be checked in by weight or units and can have previous “non-Metrc” check-ins only if the MMJ products have been sold out and their quantity is equal to '0' (zero);
• Any previously used MMJ products can be checked in to Metrc with a total quantity of '0';
• If a product has been checked in as the Metrc product, then you will not be able to check in the same product again as non-Metrc;
• Only Marijuana products get reported to Metrc;
• You must check in as either Weight or Unit;
• If you are checking in weight, you can enter the weight pre-sets;
• When checking in weight, they must use the weight indicated in the manifest, and if the weight is for “flower” it must be checked in as “flower";
• If you are checking in unit products, such as pens or edibles, you must toggle, “yes” if it is “Each";
• If it is in the manifest as “each,” it must be checked in as “Each”;
• If the unit product has a weight, you will put those figures in the Net Weight field; 
• You have to make sure the product has a profile, and then click “Check-in”;
• If it is a weighted product it will only show the products in weight and not in units;
• It will give you the weight check-in screen;
• It is all tracked by day.

Attention: Any inventory changes in your Metrc account must not happen under any circumstances. Indica will not reflect any inventory adjustments happened in Metrc, thus will not bear responsibility for any discrepancies issues encountered.     

IndicaOnline integration with Metrc allows you to maintain and keep records of all marijuana products transported from or received at that licensed facility. In addition to that, IndicaOnline integration with Metrc allows you to:

• Maintain all records necessary to fully account for each transaction of the marijuana product conducted; 
• Retain all records for tax purposes; 
• Maintain accurate and comprehensive inventory tracking records that account for all marijuana inventory activity when the retail marijuana product is sold to a consumer or destroyed;
• Report directly to Metrc in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations;
• Splitting lots or packages;
• Create new packages and strains. 

Any licensed retail facility is required to preserve and maintain all required records. The goal is to demonstrate excellence, to demonstrate business sense, and most of all to demonstrate an attitude of compliance towards state rules and regulations.

Retail sale restrictions for recreational customers:

• Adults ages 21 and older can purchase marijuana products from a licensed retail store;
• Legal consumers may purchase 1 oz or 28.35 grams of any form of marijuana;
• Legal consumers are allowed to give away 1 oz, or 28.35 grams of marijuana and six (6) immature plants to a person who is 21 or older without cost or payment or exchange of any other thing of value;
• Home delivery is not permitted.

Retail sale restrictions for medical customers:

• Adults ages 18 and older, patients, and caregivers can purchase marijuana products from the licensed retail store, but not from dispensaries, since there are currently no dispensaries offering specifically medical cannabis;
• Patients younger than 21 must have their caregiver or guardian purchase cannabis products for them;
• Only patients or caregivers can purchase from MMj retail stores;
• Medical marijuana patients can purchase 1 oz or 28.35 grams of any form of marijuana;
• Home delivery is not permitted.

Individual cultivation restrictions: 

• Adults and patients can grow cannabis for personal use;
• Adults and patients can process and transport up to 6 immature marijuana plants with up to 3 or fewer being flowering plants;
• Home cultivation is permitted at home or on private property with up to 12 marijuana plants present, with 6 or fewer being flowering plants, regardless of how many adults older than 21 reside there.

For your convenience, assigning a vendor to the licensed retail facility, while creating a new product in Indica can be done only once. 

We are open to your suggestions and feedback. Thank you for using IndicaOnline. If you have more questions regarding this article, you can submit your request to the tech support.