The Big Reveal: Washington’s New Centralized Cannabis Reporting System
The Cannabis Central Reporting System (CCRS) became known on Dec 6, 2021, replacing BioTrackTHC as the traceability reporting software vendor at Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB).
Initial months of CCRS to track cannabis movements from farm to shelf saw only a handful of licensees submitting data — a signal of the state’s slow enforcement rollout.
Here’s what the research shows - major traceability system transitions have occurred since 2013. The CCRS is the state’s third attempt at wrangling cannabis traceability data from license holders. News articles surrounding the CCRS transition and official rollout status is bound to happen. But, The Evergreen Canna Ledger is more about CCRS data journalism.
Washington State’s cannabis regulatory history includes three major transitions of traceability software systems coming online since 2013:
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2013 | WSLCB adopts BioTrackTHC as the traceability vendor |
| 2017 | WSLCB switches from BioTrack to MJ Freeway (Leaf Data Systems) |
| 2021 | Gradual sunsetting of Leaf Data Systems; licensees encouraged to move to third‑party APIs via CCRS |
| September 2021 | Full shutdown of Leaf traceability system; reporting now required via flat‑file uploads to WSLCB‑CCRS |
Why it matters:
Dec 2021 was a transition period — most, if not all, licensees had not yet fully adopted or integrated the new CCRS system.
CCRS required licensees to manually upload CSVs, which are known to be error-prone, unfamiliar than “Excel file,” and comes with a lack of enforcement clarity.
However, there are no real-time validations codified — files could be incomplete or incorrect, and they would still “upload.” This alone builds distrust between the cannabis citizens and business owners and the government to do their job backed by tax-payer money.
As a result, reports may lag or be inconsistent for a while, especially among smaller operators or those without robust IT support.
The sparse licensee activity starting from the 2021 December CCRS Traceability Report wasn’t a reflection of a dormant market, rather it was a mirror to the software upheaval in Washington’s traceability system with the thousands of cannabis license holders.
What looked like a vacant marketplace at year-end 2021 was actually a byproduct of regulatory and technical limbo.
Why so few licensees in December 2021?
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Traceability System Transition | Licensees were moving from Leaf → CCRS |
| Data Reporting Friction | New CSV/flat-file submission was confusing, manual, and inconsistently adopted |
| Lack of Enforcement | When CCRS fully launched, reporting was not strictly enforced |
| Manual Data Uploads | Errors, delays, and gaps were common |
| Enforcement Tightened | In Dec. 2022, determine if compliance improved; Is there a 5-year enforcement plan?? |
Sources used for this article: Cannabis Observer, WSLCB Board Meetings, Public concerns about CCRS rollout and data quality, Leaf Data Systems Retirement Announcement (https://lcb.wa.gov/traceability/leaf-data-sunset).
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