If Oregon’s licensed cannabis cultivators want to submit their products to competitions, such as the famed Cannabis Cup, the product must be purchased from a licensed retailer, according to a bulletin released Monday by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which oversees legal sales in the state. The agency further clarifies that licensees cannot use the “in-house quality control” adjustment in Metrc – the state’s seed-to-sale system – to enter samples into competitions.
“Using a licensee’s ‘quality control’ allowance to remove product from the system and provide to individuals would be circumventing the rules and would not be a valid method of entering into a competition,” the bulletin states. “Quality control samples are intended for quality improvement purposes within a facility, not for providing free product to individuals off the licensed premises.”
The directive indicates that a judge or competition may purchase the items “at cost” and retailers may charge a discounted price or “give it away free” if the purchaser is an Oregon Medical Marijuana Program cardholder.
“Any attempt to use adjustments – of any kind – in Metrc for purposes of entering samples into a cup competition would be a violation of OLCC rules,” the bulletin reads in bold text.
Moreover, the OLCC adds that under the state’s recreational cannabis law, public consumption is not permitted; however, what is considered “public” is determined by municipalities. Licensed operators would be allowed to set up booths at events and have limited amounts of cannabis products on-site for display only.