Here at CLR we have followed METRC over the years and also featured a couple of special Karma Koala podcast on the company
They may well be the best option in the market but as everybody knows monoplies never work out well.
Both weedweek articles look at similar isses
WEEDWEEK CALIFORNIA PRO
EXCLUSIVE: Metrc seeks growth in licensed supply chain
Over a decade, Metrc has built its business on one product, a platform used by states to help regulate their cannabis industries. It is perhaps the most used software in the cannabis industry.
While some operators resent having to buy RFID tags from Metrc and other costs imposed by the system, since he became CEO in 2022, Metrc boss Michael Johnson has spoken of his goal to make Metrc a “desired, not required” component of operators’ tech stacks. This pivot coincides with the company’s recent introduction of two products that aim to serve, not just regulate, the licensed supply chain.
In a recent podcast interview, Johnson argued that Metrc’s ubiquity has served the industry by enabling everyone to speak the same language. He describes Metrc’s new products as extensions of, and improvements on, that standard which bolsters compliance, public health and, now, operators’ bottom lines. He aims for Metrc to be, “Desired, not required,” by everyone who uses it.
Larry Levy, CEO of Lucid Green, which competes with one of Metrc’s new products, sees it differently. “By leveraging their position with regulators, [Metrc] stifles fair competition and removes innovation and choice within the cannabis industry,” he wrote in an email.
Metrc did not respond to questions and requests for comment.
SPECIAL REPORT: How does Metrc add value?
This summer, California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) renewed its contract with track and trace software provider Metrc for at least four years, at up to $28.3M per year. No state has ever replaced Metrc. It is by far the leading track and trace provider.
Metrc is also among the most controversial companies in weed, largely due to the costs it imposes on operators. Mike Getlin, director of licensing and public affairs at Nectar Markets, a large Oregon retailer called it “catastrophically expensive” for plant touching businesses.
Metrc declined to make anyone available for an interview but in a statement CEO Michael Johnson said the company is focused on making Metrc “faster, more intuitive, more transparent, more accessible, and more aligned with licensees’ goals.”
