Cannabis growers and retailers are worried New York state’s seed-to-sale tracking system isn’t ready to launch next week as planned.

New York’s seed-to-sale cannabis tracking system, which aims to track inventory and prevent the illegal trafficking of products from other states, is set to launch Dec. 17. But retailers with the Cannabis Association of New York said they’re out of time and resources to meet the deadline.

“The busiest commerce day of the entire year in the United States would not necessarily be the most prudent decision to hold the gun to people’s head to have this done, as opposed to, let’s make a better decision and maybe push back a couple of weeks anyways, offer a little grace and make sure unequivocally everyone’s on the same page,” CANY President Damien Cornwell told Spectrum News 1.

The seed-to-sale system was delayed by several months following the merger of the company BioTrack with Metrc. The state is now facing litigation because the system is not in place as required by state cannabis law — forcing the new company to rush the system’s rollout during one of the busiest times of the year for retailers.

CANY sent a letter on Monday to the Office of Cannabis Management, asking to push the date back until after the new year.

Cornwell said retailers expect software disruptions during the rollout, and could cost New York’s legal market thousands of dollars during one of the biggest weeks of sales.

In an email, Metrc said businesses do not need to stop sales to remain compliant.

“The Dec. 17 deadline requires licensees to be credentialed and to have all existing inventory recorded in Metrc, and many retailers will work with their point-of-sale providers to transfer inventory into the system without interrupting sales,” according to the company.

Metrc made some changes since the merger, including which products require retail ID tags that cost 10 cents each.

Zach Sarkis, a cannabis farmer from Rochester, said the fee is costing thousands of dollars and could put him out of business.

“I literally sent an email to the Office of Cannabis Management compliance department,” he said. “We want to stay compliant; we’re here for it, but we don’t have the capital to make this level of investment right now.”

Metrc said the 10-cent pricing and fee structures were established with state regulators and can vary by market based on program requirements.

“In New York, the 10-cent per-item reflects the contract structure that was previously established under BioTrack and adopted as part of the transition,” according to Metrc. “Metrc did not set this fee unilaterally and worked with the state to maintain continuity for licensees during the changeover.”

OCM is actively working to implement the system and the Dec. 17 deadline is the first step in the process, according to a statement from the department.

“The office is actively working to implement the seed-to-sale system, which will offer needed track and trace capability into New York’s cannabis supply chain from the moment a cannabis seed goes into the ground to when it is purchased by a cannabis consumer,” according to the OCM. “As highlighted in previous communications, Metrc was reassigned the New York state contract following an acquisition with the previous vendor in August of 2025. The December deadline was communicated with licensees for several months and OCM has been working with licensees to implement the system and is committed to doing so in a partnership understanding this is not a process that happens overnight.”

OCM leaders could not be reached Monday to provide additional details about why Dec. 17 is a first, and not final, step of the system’s launch.