Massachusetts marijuana overseers are taking a new approach to tracking industry inventory – a statewide product catalog listing all the various edibles, pre-rolls, tinctures and more that manufacturers and retailers have to offer customers.
The catalog, under development by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, is a way for regulators to get a better handle on what the legal market is producing and what the illicit market might be responsible for, the State House News Service reported.
Although participation by licensed marijuana companies in the state is not yet mandatory, regulators say it likely soon will be.
The Cannabis Control Commission’s executive director, Shawn Collins, told the news service he emailed marijuana licensees in May to notify them that the state track-and-trace system now has an added function where companies can upload:
- Product photos.
- THC or CBD potency.
- Serving sizes.
- Ingredients lists.
- General descriptions.
“This information is optional, currently, for the licensee for them to assist us in developing this product catalog … We do anticipate that some of these fields could at some point become a requirement,” Collins told the State House News Service.
The catalog concept was spurred by the vaping crisis of 2019, when thousands were sickened and several dozen died from respiratory illnesses caused by marijuana and nicotine vaping devices obtained mostly from the illicit market.
