According to documents prepared for the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB), obtained by Respect My Region, widespread problems continue to plagueMJ Freeway’s Leaf Data Systems. This software system was meant to help the state keep track of all cannabis grown in licensed facilities. This helps authorities prevent diversion to the black market. Due to some technical and legal snafus, the WSLCB had to rush to deploy the Leaf Data system earlier this year. MJ Freeway wasn’t able to make the platform live until February, a month behind schedule. Right away, reports showed the system had 160 bugs. By June, the system had over 400 known bugs. Still, since the beginning of the year, Washington cannabis businesses have been forced to use this system. This has stymied their business operations, and even their efforts at legal compliance. MJ Freeway is responsible, along with state government employees,for the implementation of the Track and Trace system. This recent report, which Respect My Region obtained from an anonymous source, shows that the WSLCB was less than cooperative with the investigation. They directed the researchers steer clear of any relevant issues -- basically, anything that could find fault within the WSLCB. This report is only focusing on the “Solution Development & Implementation” category. Out of the 28 categories this agency could investigate, they looked at only six. (Presumably, the other 22 would undoubtedly have shown massive WSLCB screw-ups.) Licensee Comments Reveal Persisting Issues Some big issues lie within these unacknowledged categories, including budget, risk, communications, support, and all of data management. Despite this small scope of assessment, the section containing comments from licensees still reveals immense issues. One of the licensee comments highlights “error messages” relating to a “host of issues.” It goes on to state that “both inside Leaf and in our third-party system that connects to Leaf, we come across error messages.” The comment concludes saying “Leaf has been inconsistent in following up regarding these issues, sometimes taking a day or two, other times taking weeks.” Another licensee comments that their “third-party traceability service noted that a Leaf bug was randomly deleting batches of inventory” from their system. Other licensees make note of inventory issues, and incorrect drawdowns. Businesses are severely suffering in maintaining the state’s mandate for rigorous compliance, and these licensee comments further prove this fact. Action needs to be taken to gain full insight into the ramifications of implementing the Leaf Data Systems prematurely. Why is the WSLCB submitting these reports, without allowing all areas to undergo inspection? This has led some Washingtonians to wonder what ties exist between the regulators and the entrepreneurs behind MJ Freeway.