The monopoly grows, ok you could call it a duopoly because of BioTrac but they are bound to go down the gurgler at some point as METRC have snaffled most of the business.
In case people think monopolies are a good idea they aren’t
Tthey are only good for people like me who can endlessly report on what they get up to and then the courtcase that decides that they are anti-competitive but as they well know that won’t happen until there is a federal legislative environment and then it’ll take the courts at least a decade to get around to it by which time all those in the senior echelons of the company and investors will have their 20-30 million $ houses.
I’m probably being naive they already most likely are in the 20-30 mill range and are looking to upgrade to the 50mill range.
Hre’s the press release.. I think we can probably call the USVI a loss leader although i imagine they’ll be able to squeeze out the cash over time and then it’s only a short ride to the BVI and you know what they are good at there.
Metrc Announces New Track-And-Trace Government Contract with the U.S. Virgin Islands
| Source: Metrc LLC
LAKELAND, Fla., Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Metrc, the most trusted and experienced provider of cannabis regulatory technology systems in the U.S., announced a new contract with the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands (GVI) to support the regulation of its medical and adult-use cannabis markets.
“Governor Bryan and the U.S. Virgin Islands government is committed to building the best cannabis regulatory framework possible, and we are honored to pioneer the territory’s inaugural track-and-trace program,” said Michael Johnson, CEO at Metrc. “The Metrc team is excited to work alongside the OCR to establish a marketplace with the utmost integrity, ensuring safety for consumers and providing licensees with the optimal conditions for growth and success.”
Metrc’s robust track-and-trace platform provides the ultimate transparency to ensure regulatory compliance, help combat the illicit market, and safeguard the health and well-being of U.S. Virgin Islands patients and consumers. The Metrc system enables licensed operators to track all activities related to cannabis plants and products, including origin, testing results, handling, and chain-of-custody information, through the company’s unique RFID tracking model and software-as-a-service (SaaS) system; this information is then easily accessible to regulators. Metrc facilitates unparalleled market security by leveraging RFID technology, the strongest means for tracking regulated products at a granular level. In the event of a recall, Metrc’s traceability features allow regulators and businesses to pinpoint affected product for targeted and timely actions, while its data infrastructure streamlines communication of essential information among government, industry, and the public.
“Metrc is the ideal partner to work with the OCR to institute a streamlined seed-to-sale tracking system for our medical and adult-use cannabis supply chains,” said Joanne Moorehead, Executive Director of OCR. “A strong regulatory framework underpinned by the Metrc system creates a transparent and data-rich market, helping to stabilize the economy and expand entrepreneurship and job opportunities for residents.”
Additionally, licensees will have access to the newly launched Metrc Retail ID™ functionality. This provides businesses with the option to generate QR codes for item-level identification and allows consumers with a smartphone to scan and access product information such as origin, authenticity, lab results, and more. In addition to providing transparency benefits for consumers, Metrc Retail ID™ reduces waste by eliminating the need for secondary labeling and acts as an inventory identifier through point-of-sale.
GVI legalized medical cannabis in 2019 when Governor Albert Bryan signed the Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act. The Cannabis Use Act to legalize adult-use cannabis was then passed by the territorial legislature in 2022, which Governor Bryan signed into law in January 2023. The Office of Cannabis Regulation (OCR) is the GVI regulatory body tasked with overseeing the territory’s market.
The announcement marks Metrc’s second partnership with a U.S. territory and island, having worked with the government of Guam since November 2021. The company holds exclusive government contracts in every region of the U.S, and while these areas have diverse regulatory frameworks, each jurisdiction shares the common goal of ensuring safe legal cannabis markets. Metrc will continue to partner with these markets to provide a data solution that streamlines compliance, protects the public, and builds trust in the marketplace.
