More than a decade after Washington state legalized recreational marijuana, the state still cannot reliably track cannabis from production to processing to retail sale.
That's according to a recent performance audit by the Washington State Comptroller's Office, which found the Liquor and Cannabis Commission failed to implement a digital tracking system it introduced in 2018, instead replacing it with a “stop-gap” system with “significant limitations.” It highlights the background to its introduction.
The Comptroller's Office said full-service “seed-to-sale” tracking services exist in other states and help authorities identify risks of illegal or dangerous practices. In Washington state, despite 12 years of development, this type of system is “not yet fully realized,” said state Comptroller Pat McCarthy.
“Washington's legal cannabis market is currently an industry that employs more than 100,000 people, and opportunities for illicit trade continue to exist at any point in the process,” the Comptroller's Office said.
The Liquor and Cannabis Commission doesn't expect to launch a better tracking system until 2031, nearly 20 years after voters approved the sale of recreational marijuana.
In response to the audit, the agency said it was wary of monitoring the industry despite its tracking software's flaws.
“Our concern is that readers of this audit report may incorrectly infer that the agency is not prioritizing traceability and regulatory functions as required by law,” the board said.
“This is nothing but the truth,” the response continues. “Now more than ever, the agency is prioritizing public safety and health in the cannabis industry.”
Washington's 2018 system, LEAF, was supposed to be “sufficiently sophisticated to highlight areas of risk for further investigation by enforcement officers.”
However, the project, overseen by three different sponsors and three different deputy directors over three years, ran into serious problems soon after its launch, leaving the company unable to generate or report sales. Ta.
By 2021, the board had abolished LEAF and repurposed the existing system, which it named the Cannabis Central Reporting System. The system was designed as a backup licensee database to be used until the board implemented a new system, which agency administrators initially thought would be “probably a year or so,” the audit report said. That system still exists today.
Current systems are unable to provide real-time tracking information to bailiffs, and errors such as misplaced decimal points in reported sales prices are common. The system reported annual revenue of $7.7 billion in 2022. In comparison, the Department of Revenue's estimate for the same year was $1.3 billion.
The Commission relies heavily on cannabis companies to report accurate and complete information, but once companies upload their data, it cannot be easily accessed or corrected. Additionally, products do not have a single identification number, making it difficult to track them for quick product recalls.
The audit also discovered records containing dates before cannabis was legalized, including approximately 60,000 products with reported dates ranging from 1899 to 2003 and future unreported products. Approximately 600,000 products with dates were included.
In its response to the audit, the Liquor and Cannabis Commission acknowledged that the Cannabis Central Reporting System is not a “long-term solution,” but it continues to update the system “to meet the agency's needs.” He said he has started working on it. A new tracking system will be developed in November 2023.
The Office of the Auditor General points out that “today's board leaders are inheriting historic problems in project management through significant changes in multiple key roles,'' and that boards are “inheriting historic challenges in project management.'' “We are focusing on replacing information technology systems.”
The Liquor and Cannabis Commission's response also asserted that “more than traceability is important to the regulation of the cannabis industry,” and that “other independent investigations and studies” are necessary for the commission, industry, public health and He said it shows prevention groups are building a “safe system.” Prohibits recreational use of cannabis by adults. ”
