Members of Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry at a legislative subcommittee meeting last week aired frustrations with the state contractor used to track cannabis products and sales.

The vice chairwoman of the Arkansas Legislative Council’s Medical Marijuana Oversight Subcommittee, Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock, raised the issue on Thursday, saying she had heard concerns about the accuracy of data in the Biotrack system and that the company had not been responsive to providers’ needs.

The state, through the Arkansas Department of Health, signed a $560,000 contract with Biotrack in 2017, which can be renewed annually through 2024.

Under rules from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, all medical marijuana cultivation facilities and dispensaries must use an inventory tracking system implemented by the state to track products from seed to distribution.

According to the contract, the software system is used to collect and report “seed to sale” tracking information for medical marijuana products. It is required to provide in real time the total amount of marijuana and manufactured marijuana product purchased by a qualifying patient or caregiver from dispensaries in any two-week period.

The contract also requires the state to have access to data from dispensaries and cultivation facilities, including the total amount of seeds and plants in possession, total product inventory and information about the transport of the product. [Read More @ The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]