MJ Freeway In The Slow Lane In Utah…..

Brandt voiced frustration with problems with the software the state selected to follow cannabis from the time it’s a seedling to the point of sale. The digital platform, supplied by the Denver-based company MJ Freeway, has crashed multiple times since True North opened its cannabis pharmacies in North Logan and South Ogden, she said.

Each crash halts sales, she said, as the pharmacies wait for the system to get back up and running. There are also smaller problems with the software — for instance, products don’t always ring up properly — and she said MJ Freeway is slow to respond to her businesses’ requests for fixes.

Both she and Panh have the perception that MJ Freeway pays relatively little attention to Utah, devoting more of its resources to the larger markets it serves in other states. Moreover, there’s little incentive for the software firm to focus on her company, whose pharmacies operate under the name Perfect Earth Modern Apothecary, because the state has effectively given MJ Freeway a monopoly over seed-to-sale tracking in Utah, Brandt said.

“They’re not necessarily keeping Utah as a priority,” she said, “because there’s no competition.”

Other states that have used the MJ Freeway software have reported problems with outages, crashes and hacks, with The Philadelphia Inquirer calling it “chronically glitchy.” Utah selected the vendor last year largely because the company offered its services for less than half the price of the other finalist for the state’s five-year contract.