What You Need to Know: California's New Metrc Regulations Required Now
The time has come.
After 5 years, California is finally streamlining its agencies and regulations. Over the next few months we can expect:
Delays in response times
A lengthy and combative public comment period with multiple amendments
Confusion on all sides of the industry
Lack of training on updated workflows due to regulatory amendments
Analysis of SOPs, playbooks, and audit procedures
Rose at Ridgeline Farms.
We know this is a stressful time for operators in the state of California as we wait to see the intended and unintended consequences of these changes. Change is always scary, especially when your livelihood sits in the hands of regulators and politicians that view your business as a budgetary solution rather than the product of your hard work and determination to thrive in spite of the constantly shifting rules and expectations. RMCC understands your frustration and fear as the regulatory framework for your operational workflows drastically changes over the coming months.
RMCC takes the strategic approach of analyzing the most stringent regulations nationwide and advising based on those requirements. Our clients appreciate RMCC's best practices that exceed the expectations detailed in the letter of the law, especially as their state regulators seek to tighten regulatory requirements over time. RMCC’s clients and certification students already have the operational infrastructure and education they need to thrive under the tightest regulations while their competitors are busy playing catch up and scrambling to adapt.
Let’s unpack the proposed updates for California centered around track-and-trace, inventory control, record retention, and operations. We’ll also discuss the existing RMCC best practices that our clients and students already observe that will keep them in compliance regardless of these evolving rules and regulations:
Operational Impacts of All Businesses
DCC §15049.2: If there are any discrepancies in type or quantity of cannabis or cannabis products specified in the shipping manifest and the type or quantity received by the licensee, the licensee shall reject the shipment.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Discrepancies between physical inventory and shipments should always be rejected. Once accepting a shipment, it’s contents are your responsibility. Don’t take on someone else’s mistake and make it a costly one of your own. Tighten your operational infrastructure around intaking shipments now before it’s too late.
DCC §15049: If a package adjustment is used to adjust the quantity of cannabis or cannabis product in the track and trace system, the licensee shall include a description explaining the reason for the adjustment.
RMCC’s Best Practice: The only compliant adjustment is through under pull vs overpull or undersold vs oversold adjustments to communicate entry error of the incorrect batch (usually in the third-party system). What makes it compliant? These adjustments do not count against the significant discrepancy! They should be recorded with its corresponding Metrc UID. If you and your team are not comfortable making these adjustments, then your business is at risk of fees, license suspension, or even revocation due to significant inventory descriptions. Equip yourself and your team with the operational workflows you need to stay in compliance. Sign up for RMCC’s How to Master Metrc Audits Across The Supply Chain 15+ hour course today.
DCC §15048.1: Maintain an accurate and complete list of all of the licensee’s track and trace system users, including full names and usernames, and update the list immediately when changes occur.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Maintain employee lists and Metrc user lists. Make it a part of your regular practice. Audit all record retention documentation on a monthly basis or risk massive fines and penalties upon inspection. Checkout operators who utilize RMCC’s best practices.
Operational Impacts for Distributors
DCC §15049.2: The distributor who transports the cannabis or cannabis product shall record the following additional information on the shipping manifest: (1) The actual date and time of departure from the licensed premises; and (2) The actual date and time of arrival at each licensed premises.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Distributors have access to the “transporter hub” within Metrc. Since 2018, RMCC has always advised companies to record when the vehicle leaves the facility and arrives at the destination within the hub. By putting in place workflows and practices and exceed the expectations of regulators, you can future-proof your business and stay prepared no matter what regulators throw at you.
DCC §15049.2: Upon pick-up or receipt of cannabis and cannabis products for transport, storage, or inventory, a licensee shall ensure that the cannabis or cannabis products received are as described in the shipping manifest. The licensee shall record acceptance or receipt, and acknowledgment of the cannabis or cannabis products in the track and trace system. If there are any discrepancies in type or quantity of cannabis or cannabis products specified in the shipping manifest and the type or quantity received by the licensee, the licensee shall reject the shipment.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Since track-and-trace inception, RMCC has advised validating the shipment each time, before the inventory enters the vehicle. This includes distributors picking up a shipment for the originating licensee. While the overall time to complete the shipment increases, errors and adjustments decrease. Discrepancies are identified prior to delivering, risking increased cost due to the shipment rejection workflow. (Yes, the shipment must go back to the originating license if rejected). Learn more with the Aptitude Test: Compliance Operations and coaching feedback provided to all Certification students.
Operational Impacts for Growers & Manufacturers
DCC §15048.5: For batches held in containers, the package tag shall be affixed to the container holding the batch. If a batch of cannabis or cannabis products is held in multiple containers, the package tag shall be affixed to one of the containers and the other containers shall be labeled with the applicable UID number. Each unit within the container shall be labeled with the applicable UID number. All containers with the same UID number shall be placed contiguous to one another to facilitate identification by the Department.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Follow these requirements and write out on each container housed under one Metrc package tag, 1 of X, 2 of X, 3 of X, etc with “x” representing the total number of containers stored under that one Metrc package tag. Learn more about serialization vs batch tagging in our previous blogs. Don’t let a simple mistake be your downfall. Implement RMCC’s best practices today.
Operational Impacts for Growers
DCC 15048.4: Have each immature plant in the lot labeled with the UID number and placed contiguous to one another to facilitate identification by the Department; or Be fully separated from other lots of immature or mature plants by a physical barrier. In such cases, each individual plant does not need to be labeled with the corresponding UID number.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Over the years, we have seen growers or their admins mix up their Metrc plant and package tags to confuse the regulators. In reality, this only confused the operators themselves leaving them unable to identify their own inventory and run a successful business. Do things right from the start rather than creating chaos to disguise chaos leaving you with bigger and bigger messes to clean up.
DCC 15048.4: A plant tag shall be applied to each individual plant at the time the plant is moved to the designated canopy area or when the plant begins flowering. (Big one, a lot of growers have immature plant lots in their canopy space)
RMCC’s Best Practice: Previous regulations did not clearly state plants in the canopy space must be individually tagged. Many cultivators receive violations for this requirement. RMCC has helped clients understand since 2018 that any plant in the canopy space must be individually tagged. When you expend the extra effort to surpass the regulator’s expectations, you set yourself up with successful business practices that make inspections and audits from regulators a breeze.
DCC §15048.5: For harvested plants that are hanging, drying, or curing, the plants shall be assigned a unique harvest batch name and shall be placed within clear view of an individual standing next to the batch. The assigned harvest batch name shall match what is entered in the track and trace system.
RMCC’s Best Practice: To make this easier for clients, we advise them to use a mesh bag or metal ring to store plant tags housed within the batch and a label with the harvest batch number between each harvest batch in the dry room. Sometimes, the simplest solutions that make you and your employees’ life a little easier make all the difference.
DCC §15049.1.: After the entire harvest batch has completed drying, trimming, and curing, and has been packaged, the licensee shall indicate in the track and trace system that the harvest is finished.
RMCC’s Best Practice: Audit each harvest batch to determine the accuracy of the harvest batch, packaging, and waste record retention, then “finish” the active harvest batch. Learn more in our most advanced series, How to Master Metrc Cultivation Compliance.
The five-day public comment period will begin when the OAL publishes the proposed regulations as “under review” on its website. The DCC will share instructions for submitting public comments and participating in the regulatory process once the proposed regulations are published and the public comment period opens. If the proposed regulations are ultimately approved, these rules would become effective at the end of September.
After the emergency rulemaking process is finished, the DCC anticipates further improving the regulations over the coming months. That’s right! Even after these emergency rules are published and in effect, we should still brace for more change and upheaval as the DCC works through the unintended consequences of its actions.
It’s not too late to join the growing number of California operators RMCC has “future-proofed” for these types of regulatory changes. Rest easy knowing you and your team are ready when the regulators inevitably knock on your door for surprise inspections.