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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – A class action lawsuit has been filed against the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and State Department of Health, attempting to stop the implementation of a seed-to-sale tracking program from a company called Metrc. 

The seed-to-sale tracking system follows the plant from its origin all the way to when the product is in the hands of the customer.

Ronald Durbin is the attorney representing approximately 10,000 licensed cannabis businesses across the state. He says the implementation of Metrc would create a monopoly, and that company would earn over $12 million in the first year alone.

“They’re being required by the OMMA to follow the terms of a contract they had nothing to do with, which we believe is a violation of Oklahoma law,” he said.

One dispensary owner says the program could create a lot of extra costs.

“With Metrc, you’re forced to buy tags for nearly every product that you put out, there’s only one place the tags can come from though and that’s through Metrc, which allows them to control the pricing and availability,” Corbin Wyatt, owner of Likewise Cannabis, said.

He and many other business already do seed-to-sale tracking.

Durbin says it would take extra resources for businesses to change the systems they use.

“The OMMA is coming in and saying, ‘hey we’re going to require you to use this secondary system, it doesn’t integrate with any seed-to-sale tracking program, it’s just an additional cost, additional labor,'” Durbin said.

“OMMA exists to protect patient safety, so we have a lot of things that we’re doing and putting into place like the implementation of the seed-to-sale system for tracking. We’re going to make sure every commercial licensee is inspected,” OMMA director Kelly Williams said earlier this week.

KFOR asked about the lawsuit specifically on Sunday, and were told they don’t comment on pending litigation.

Durbin says if there’s no intervention, the program would go into effect at the end of the month. He says he’s asking the court for an emergency injunction and expects to have a hearing in the next ten days.

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