Florida company sues Missouri over medical marijuana contract

A Florida company that will handle Missouri’s medical marijuana tracking system wants clarification from the courts on what it can charge companies.

The lawsuit against the Office of Administration said state officials provided conflicting information over what Metrc can charge medical marijuana providers for tags on the product.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services awarded Metrc the contract in April to track marijuana as it makes its way from being planted to being sold. Each plant and package will receive a tag, sold to licensed medical marijuana providers by Metrc, so that the state can track them. Metrc will also handle all software management of the state’s patient registry and facility license applications, at a total cost of $5.1 million over five years.

BioTrack THC, a competing company, contested Metrc’s award with the state. BioTrack said that Metrc’s application wasn’t complete, claiming it did not give the state a firm, fixed price of the tags.

Karen Boerger, director of purchasing and materials management, denied BioTrack’s complaint on May 20, but interpreted the state contract as saying that Metrc couldn’t charge facilities at all for the tags. Lowell Pearson, an attorney for Metrc, said that letter conflicted with both the contract and state rules that said the company could charge for tags.

Bidding documents show that Metrc plans to charge $40 a month to each facility for the tracking software, 45 cents for plant tags and 25 cents for package tags. The state would not have to pay for the tags, according to the documents. Metrc expected to make $163,200 each year, assuming the state licenses 340 facilities.

Metrc spokesperson Jeanne Moran said the company wants clarification to make sure the state and Metrc are on the same page.

“The clarification of the contract, specifically related to RFID tags, is to ensure Metrc is able to work with growers and licensees both large and small, creating a system where costs stay relative to (and scale with) the size of businesses,” Moran said. “Metrc prides itself on both the transparency and affordability of our pricing.”

The Office of Administration did not return a request seeking comment on Friday.