The PA Enquirer reports
The chronically glitchy computer system that forms the backbone of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program crashed Thursday morning, causing several dispensaries to halt sales and turn away patients.
The software company MJ Freeway was awarded a $10.4 million contract by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in 2017 to trace all of the state’s medical cannabis commerce from “seed to sale.” The Denver-based company tracks every plant that is grown, every sale that is recorded, and every patient and medical practitioner who participates in the program in Pennsylvania.
But MJ Freeway software has been plagued by hacks, hiccups, and data breaches since the launch of the program, according to users.
“There have been many issues with the MJ Freeway software that have affected our ability to operate our business, but this isn’t about us or an inconvenience, it’s about the patients across the state of Pennsylvania that have been prevented from getting their medicine and that is simply unacceptable,” said Trent Hartley, cofounder of Cresco Yeltrah, which operates a grow house and three dispensaries in Western Pennsylvania.