Metrc lands South Dakota’s medical marijuana track-and-trace contract

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Florida-based seed-to-sale traceability company Metrc signed a contract to provide track-and-trace services to South Dakota’s medical marijuana program.

The deal marks Metrc’s 20th government contract, the company said in a Wednesday news release. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Under the Metrc system, companies will use the company’s radio frequency identification (RFID) system to tag cannabis plants and products within the program.

When marijuana is harvested, packaged and/or manufactured, the origin, testing results, handling and chain-of-custody information will be traceable using those RFID tags.

State regulators as well as operators can use this information to ensure product safety.

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South Dakota’s medical cannabis program will become more restrictive after Gov. Kristi Noem recently signed six marijuana and hemp bills into law.

Both medical and adult-use marijuana legalization were approved by South Dakota voters in 2020, but recreational legalization hasn’t panned out for several reasons.