Regulators recently said that the estimated $1.5 billion marijuana market in New York would not be able to track seed-to-sales until early 2026.
The sudden and unexpected turnaround last month was triggered by a acquisition involving two of the country’s largest surveillance software providers, after a delay of the latest delay in the East Coast delays expected to be the largest legal cannabis market.
At least this is the regulator’s delay in New York’s tracking of seed-to-sales.
New York launched legal sales in December 2022, but it doesn’t have the same working track track systems as those that monitor the flow of products in other states.
Observers and regulators say the lack of track tracking at least helps with the ongoing reversal and transfer issues, where marijuana products produced outside the legal channel eventually produce on licensed store shelves and vice versa.
Latest delays in New York marijuana
According to a timetable proposed earlier this summer, New York license holders will comply with track requirements starting August 1.
Cultivators are the first to comply with the licensing category that distributors, manufacturers and retailers follow in the coming months.
New York chose Biotrack, a Florida-based software provider, as its track and field provider in 2022.
However, this was all suspended in an agreement between Biotrack and market leader Metrc announced on August 5.
According to the New York Office of Marijuana Management (OCM), license holders will have to use METRC software instead of Biotrack.
To be precise, it is still unclear when New York cannabis businesses have to use METRC.
According to a notice posted on the agency’s website, OCM “is actively working with METRC to develop project schedules and has conducted targeted integrations in early 2026.”
Unexpected merger means METRC-led tracking
Biotrack’s five-year deal with New York was significantly lower than most contracts between states and METRC.
METRC’s four-year contract with California started on July 1, 2024 is worth $113 million.
The two companies said at the time that on August 5, Metrc and Biotrack announced a “strategic partnership” that announced that Biotrack abandoned its “government-oriented action.”
The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.
With New York, New York-based Metrc, headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, will operate the track system in 30 states.
Before launching tracks and tracks, many New York operators complained about unclear or conflicting instructions, as well as controversial requirements to spend a lot on nearly every product that needs to be pinned to the Biotrack ID tag.
