Cannabis producers stress over software

If only there were a good way for them  to chill out a bit

Washington State’s cannabis industry is stressed out over a software problem.

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board notified businesses just last week that its brand new “seed-to-sale” traceability software platform will not be ready to launch at the end of the month.

This means that every pot shop and every product it sells has detailed data that goes with it. All this goes into a state database, to make sure every plant is accounted for.

To help do this, the state offers free software, which was supposed to switch to a new vendor, MJ Freeway, at the end of the month.

But now MJ Freeway has announced a delay, business owners have started to panic, fearing it could impact supply and sales.

On its website, it has provided a spreadsheet businesses can download, and fill out, by hand, for every item.

However retailers say that it will be a nightmare and too easy to make a one-digit error in a 16 digit code.

It’s not just a headache for the person in charge of inventory, but the business owner as well, who has to pay staff for the extra time it takes to enter the data.

The LCB insists the impact is limited, saying only a quarter of the 1900 licensees uses the state’s software. But members of its advisory board aren’t certain it won’t have widespread impact.

“We’re all stressed out”, said Jeremy Moberg of CannaSol Farms in Okanagan.

The new traceability platform is expected to be ready on January 1, 2018. LCB and the advisory board said it’s still working to come up with a better temporary solution.