Recreational sales halted at Salem dispensary due to inventory issues

Recreational sales at a Salem dispensary have been put on hold temporarily, the company announced Tuesday.

Alternative Therapies Group, the third dispensary to begin selling recreational marijuana in the state of Massachusetts, cited they were experiencing problems with their inventory that forced them to halt their recreational sales.

According to a statement from the company, the dispensary's data became compromised in the state's seed-to-sale tracking system, METRC, imposed by the Cannabis Control Commission.

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The problem has compromised the dispensary's ability to transfer their recreational inventory from the cultivation and manufacturing facility into the Salem dispensary.

Medical marijuana patients, however, will still be able to purchase medical products.

ATG said they currently do not have an expected timeline for the problem to be fixed, but cited they are working alongside the CCC and METRC support team to fix the issue.

"We deeply regret that we will not be able to honor recreational customers, even those with scheduled appointments, until further notice. We will remain open for medical sales in the meantime," ATG said in a statement.

Following the issues involving ATG's inventory, the CCC issued the following statement.

"The Commonwealth's mandatory seed-to-sale tracking technology, Metrc, remains fully functional. Alternative Therapies Group's adult-use supply issues are the result of improper inventory management practices and the challenges are limited to their operations. The Cannabis Control Commission remains confident in the tracking system's ability to detect discrepancies in the data, which licensees upload, that signal when potential public health and safety risks may exist. To prevent diversion, the sale of contaminated products, and other issues, Commission investigators will continue to regularly inspect marijuana establishments to ensure they tag, upload, and trace all inventory correctly."

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