Yesterday the OLCC hosted a Marijuana Update meeting. The meeting was attended by approximately 70 Producers, Processors, Wholesalers and Retailers. During the meeting the OLCC explained the breakdown of rules and responsibility between organizations like the OLCC, OHA, DOA and ODOR. After each presenter there was a question and answer session that was very enlightening.
 
New Licenses and License Renewals
 
The OLCC reports that there is a backlog in processing the various applications for licensing. During the first year the OLCC pulled inspectors from the Liquor side of affairs to make up for the backlog of applications. Now those auxiliary resources are returning to normal duty so expect a slowdown in the time that it takes to process a new or renewal application.
 
For those licensees who have a renewal date pending the OLCC recommends that you apply for renewal sooner rather than later. There is a critical 20-day window for renewal. If you apply for license renewal with more than 20 days left on your license, then you can continue to operate even if it takes the OLCC more than 20 days to process your license renewal, however if there is less than 20 days left before you apply for renewal then you will have to close operations after your expiration date until the OLCC is able to process your renewal. Again, apply with more than 20 days on your license and keep operating. Apply with less than 20 days on your license and shut down when your license expires until after the OLCC can process your application.
 
METRC
 
The OLCC warms that there are a lot of reporting irregularities in METRC and that they will be beginning to crack down on these errors soon with fines. The example provided was that of the producer who harvested a plant 6 months ago and never applied a tag. Please be sure to keep your METRC reporting accurate and up-to-date to avoid penalties.
 
Pre-rolls
 
TJ Sheehy of the OLCC says that pre-rolls should always be weight-based. Many dispensaries log pre-rolls as unit or combined-each in METRC but this is incorrect. All pre-rolls should be weight-based.
 
Tags
 
IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO APPLY YOUR OWN TAG OVER A VENDOR TAG. If you receive a package from a vendor and that package has a package tag you can use the METRC package tag in OMMPOS. You do not need to re-package packages received from Vendors.                                                                                                                      
 
Employees
 
The OLCC emphasized that it is the licensee’s responsibility to ensure that ALL employees of your organization are registered in METRC and that all employees who handle Marijuana possess a valid Marijuana Handler’s card.
 
For questions about the rules the OLCC recommends visiting WhatsLegalOregon.com
 
For question about how we can help you keep your dispensary compliant contact Raja (971) 276 – 3371 or visit us at http://ommpos.com