You are here
Home 🌿 Cannabis Technology News 🌿 Tracking technology helps ensure marijuana stays out of the wrong hands 🌿News Categories
Tracking technology helps ensure marijuana stays out of the wrong hands

Soon, businesses will be able to grow and sell recreational marijuana in Connecticut, but how do we make sure none of it ends up on the black market?
Other states use technology to track marijuana.
Track-and-trace technology doesn’t just help ensure marijuana stays in the regulated market, it also protects consumers, it’s easier to recall products that go bad, and it’s all because companies can track even ounce from seed to sale.
"I want to make sure that we are doing the most efficient, thoughtful process with every gram," Megan Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, tells us.
Megan is able to monitor every ounce of marijuana through her Canna Provisions, whether it’s seedlings, in an incubator, or the final products customers buy.
It’s all thanks to little tags from a company called METRC, radio-frequency identification tags called track and trace.
Massachusetts, like all states that allow the sale of recreational marijuana, require all businesses in the industry to use track and trace.
"It is important that, I think, we represent this product as a responsible one," Senate President Martin Looney stated.
Connecticut will also use track and trace once our market is up and running, likely sometime next year.
The Department of Consumer Protection says it's close to picking a company.
One reason we’re using the technology is to make sure no marijuana ends up on the black market.
"The prevention of diversion and making sure that these products stay within the marketplace," Kaitlin Krasselt, spokeswoman for the Department of Consumer Protection, said.
Sanders says the concern is overblown, because companies have too much to lose in profits and in penalties.
"We’ve invested millions of dollars into our license. There’s no way we’d ever consider flushing that all down the toilet," noted Sanders.
But she sees benefits.
It allows her to follow her company's products and it makes it easier to recall something if there’s a problem, like a test finds some mold.
"If something was to happen or if there was a particular strain of cannabis that was created and out there in the public, we’d be able to track it," House Majority Leader Jason Rojas says.
Sanders employs track plants the moment they go into an incubator, first in small batches.
Once plants can grow on their own, they get an individual tag. Plants that are too weak get destroyed.
The tags stay with the plants until they’re harvested and packaged.
The tags can give customers confidence in what they’re buying.
"What we’re finding is people prefer to buy from the regulated market," added Sanders.
We don’t use track and trace for medical marijuana, but that industry does fall under Connecticut’s prescription monitoring system, so there is already oversight there.
420 Intel is Your Source for Marijuana News
420 Intel is the leading source for cannabis news from around the world. Get the latest updates on cannabis legalization, politics and technology, as well as developments in medical and recreational marijuana news. Our commitment is to bring you the most important cannabis news stories every day of the week.
At 420 Intel we understand that effective marijuana industry news coverage is a constant endeavor. Every day stories develop regarding cannabis legalization, technological developments, and the medicinal benefits of marijuana use. Each new development carries the potential to impact the marijuana industry regionally, nationally, and internationally. 420 Intel is the marijuana industry news outlet that will keep you up to date on these developments and how they impact the world around you.
With the marijuana industry constantly evolving, you need a cannabis news outlet to keep you abreast of the pertinent information. At 420 Intel, we cover marijuana legalization news throughout the world, offer reliable information for cannabis business owners, detail technological advances that impact the marijuana industry, cover marijuana rallies from across the globe, and everything in between.
You can get 420 Intel news delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for our daily marijuana news, ensuring you’re always kept up to date on the ever-changing cannabis industry. To stay even better informed about marijuana legalization news follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.