Yolo County Partners with SICPA for Medical Cannabis Control

SPRINGFIELD, Va., Jan. 24, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SICPA, a global leader in security solutions, is partnering with Yolo County, California on a medical cannabis control solution pilot using its proven track and trace offering, the Cannabis Control and Compliance Solution, which combines counterfeit-resistant stamps, traceability and enforcement tools, and data management services to create a platform that ensures easy regulatory compliance. Launching March 1, the program will help confirm medical cannabis in Yolo County complies with local government regulations.

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Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner John Young explained, "SICPA's solution will allow Yolo officials to document a forensic trail across the medical cannabis supply chain, from cultivator to dispensary, enabling government regulators and law enforcement to accurately track products, and identify and reduce the distribution and sale of illegal cannabis." He continued, "By tracking the entire supply chain of cannabis, from plant to final product, the system will further enable the patient community to identify and confirm medical cannabis originating from Yolo County has been legitimately sourced and properly tested."

SICPA is leveraging its expertise in this space to ensure the Yolo solution will suit the county's needs over the long haul. SICPA Vice President and Director of Business Development Alex Spelman explained, "The solution is flexible enough to meet the needs of a mature market like California at the state, county and local municipality level. In fact, SICPATRACE(®), the core technology used with this solution, has been used since 2005 by the California Board of Equalization to effectively track and trace approximately 900 million packs of cigarettes annually, representing more than $835 million in annual excise tax collections."

SICPA has a long history of partnering with local governments to provide secure track and trace solutions that enable comprehensive oversight of tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and medical cannabis in order to promote public health, address public safety concerns, safeguard proof of origin and, where applicable, ensure appropriate tax revenue collection.

How it works
Once government regulators approve cannabis business licenses, licensees are given access to a secure, online system that allows them to share key information with other system users throughout the supply chain.

Through a combination of anti-counterfeiting stamps and the secure online system, products are tracked from the individual plant level all the way to point of sale. As a product moves through the supply chain--from cultivator to manufacturer to distributor to dispensary--more information is added to the online system and associated with a particular stamp, this essentially creates a map of a product's journey through the system.

The stamps will also connect patients and consumers to product catalog information through a smartphone app and website. Patients can use these tools to make sure a stamp is valid, retrieve product details, see test results, and more.

Program Benefits
SICPA's medical cannabis control solution provides many benefits to program participants. For government officials and law enforcement, the solution offers:

    --  Visibility across the entire supply chain
    --  Ability to quickly authenticate products and ensure they are produced
        legally
    --  Ability to identify suspicious behavior and investigate possible threats

For growers, manufacturers, distributors, and dispensaries, the solution offers:

    --  Simple and efficient on-ramp to compliance
    --  Supply chain visibility
    --  An app and website that connects them with patients

Patients can count on the solution to:

    --  Validate medical cannabis stamps
    --  Ensure they are getting the right products for them

For more information on:
SICPA's Medical Cannabis Control Solution - http://us.sicpa.com/CannabisControl

SICPATRACE(®) - http://www.sicpa.com/government-security-solutions/sicpatracer

About SICPA
SICPA, a global leader in authentication, identification and secure traceability solutions and services, was founded in Switzerland in 1927 and partners with governments, financial institutions, businesses and industries worldwide on matters related to security.

Over the last century, SICPA has built its reputation as an innovator, thanks to the pioneering development of new products and technologies. SICPA annually invests a significant portion of its revenues in research and development and with more than 4,200 patents, is now a leading provider of global solutions and services for identification, authentication and traceability. For several years SICPA has successfully implemented in many countries, the program SICPATRACE(®), which is based on a platform, developed exclusively for Governments, which optimizes the collection of excise duties.

SICPA is the world leader in secure traceability solutions for products subject to excise duties and is a recognized supplier and consultant estimated to governments and central banks, security printers and industries.

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SOURCE SICPA