New Software To Track Inventory, Sales at Marijuana Dispensaries

A web-based system will be deployed by the Hawai’i State Department of Health to track medical marijuana inventory, sales, and other information on an around-the-clock, real-time basis.

The information is already required of dispensary licensees statewide, according to Keith Ridley, Chief of DOH’s Office of Health Care Assurance.

All state licensing activities on healthcare facilities, agencies, and organizations in Hawai’i are conducted by the Office of Health Care Assurance, who is also tasked with implementing Act 241.

The act was signed into law by Governor David Ige in July 2015 and became section 329D, HRS. Under the program, a dispensary licensee may begin dispensing medical marijuana and manufactured marijuana products to qualifying patients or primary caregivers after July 15, 2016 with the department’s approval.

A total of eight licenses may be awarded under the new law. Three of those licenses will be issued for the City and County of Honolulu, two dispensary licenses each for the County of Hawai’i and the County of Maui, and one dispensary license for the County of Kauai.

These licenses will each provide operation of up to two production centers and two retail stations for a total of 16 production centers and 16 retail dispensaries statewide. Each production center may have up to 3,000 marijuana plants.

On Nov. 19, a Request for Proposals was issued and notice of the award of contract for the tracking system should be made by Dec. 23.

“This is another major step forward to implement the medical marijuana program to ensure access for Hawai’i patients and caregivers,” Ridley said. “After researching various options, the department determined a web-based software system would be the most effective and user-friendly way for licensees and state officials to collect and report seed-to-sale tracking information to ensure public safety and patient safety, and licensees will be required to utilize a tracking system. We are also exploring how other entities such as law enforcement officers or laboratories can also securely access the information.”

Under the tracking system, products from seed to sale or disposal will be monitored, and the system will collect information on inventory and sales, including the following:

The total amount of marijuana at each dispensary, in the form of seeds or plants, including all plants that are derived from cuttings or cloning, until the marijuana, marijuana plants, or manufactured marijuana products are sold or destroyed;

The total amount of manufactured marijuana product inventory, including the equivalent physical weight of marijuana that is used to manufacture marijuana products or purchased by a qualifying patient and primary caregiver from all retail dispensing locations in any 15-day period;

The amount of unused plant material produced by each plant at harvest; and

The transport of marijuana and manufactured marijuana products between production centers and retail dispensing locations, including tracking identification issued by the tracking system, the identity of the person transporting the marijuana or manufactured marijuana products, and how the products are transported.