{"title":"METRC package tags in Rhode Island: adult-use and medical share one list, and medical comes first","url":"https://www.seedlink.net/guides/metrc/package-tags-adult-use-vs-medical","json":"https://www.seedlink.net/guides/metrc/package-tags-adult-use-vs-medical/data.json","question":"How do I avoid burning medical package tags on an adult-use order in Rhode Island?","answer":"Classify every tag by its TagTypeName and TagInventoryTypeName fields and never by its position or label prefix: Rhode Island returns the medical tags first, and the tag number is printed on the physical sticker.","environment":"Rhode Island production and sandbox","observed":"2026-09-07","revised":"2026-09-20","published":"2026-09-20","facts":[{"id":"adult_use_tags_available","value":305,"observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available at one Rhode Island production cultivator facility (Micro class), read-only probe"},{"id":"medical_tags_available","value":60,"observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available at one Rhode Island production cultivator facility (Micro class), read-only probe"},{"id":"list_order","value":"Medical tags listed first, every adult-use tag after them","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, same facility, counted by position"},{"id":"tag_type_names","value":"TagTypeName: Cannabis Package (adult-use) and Medical Package (medical)","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, same facility"},{"id":"tag_inventory_type_names","value":"TagInventoryTypeName: CannabisPackage and MedicalPackage","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, same facility"},{"id":"label_prefixes","value":"Label prefixes at that facility: medical 1A42A01, adult-use 1A42A03","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, same facility; the prefix is license-specific"},{"id":"is_used_absent","value":"No IsUsed field on the production response; the endpoint returns unused tags only","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, Rhode Island production"},{"id":"incident_packages_on_medical_tags","value":"2 packages created on medical tags in one overnight packaging run; the manifest step then failed","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"Rhode Island production, the first wholesale order SeedLink packaged; read-only probe of the outgoing transfer afterwards"},{"id":"rebuilt_manifest_packages","value":"3 adult-use packages on the manifest the cultivator rebuilt by hand the same morning","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"GET /transfers/v2/outgoing and its deliveries, Rhode Island production, read-only probe"},{"id":"archived_package_still_readable","value":"A package deleted in METRC Connect is archived, and GET /packages/v2/{label} still returns it with its quantity intact","observed":"2026-06-04","source":"Rhode Island production, the two archived packages from the incident"},{"id":"hemp_tags_in_sandbox","value":"1,000 Hemp Package tags listed beside 843 cannabis package tags","observed":"2026-09-07","source":"GET /tags/v2/package/available, Rhode Island sandbox, packaging pre-flight"},{"id":"collision_error","value":"HTTP 400 with the message \"The Package Tag is not available.\" when a tag read as available had been consumed by another creator first","observed":"2026-07-25","source":"POST /packages/v2/, Rhode Island production and sandbox, packaging runs"},{"id":"note_and_item_name_verbatim","value":"GET /packages/v2/{label} returns Note and Item.Name verbatim on Rhode Island production","observed":"2026-07-25","source":"Two packages read at one production facility"}],"constants":[{"value":64,"why":"base64, the name of the encoding in the Authorization header example"}],"faq":[{"question":"Why does Rhode Island list medical tags before adult-use tags?","answer":"We do not know, and the ordering is undocumented. It was observed at one production facility on 2026-06-04 and is treated as arbitrary: classify every row by its type fields and never rely on position."},{"question":"Can I tell adult-use from medical by the label prefix?","answer":"Not safely. At one facility the medical labels start 1A42A01 and the adult-use labels 1A42A03, but the prefix encodes the license and differs between facilities. Use TagTypeName and TagInventoryTypeName."},{"question":"What happens if a medical tag is used on an adult-use package?","answer":"The tag is printed on the physical sticker, so the package has to be archived in METRC, new packages created on adult-use tags, every unit re-labelled, and the manifest rebuilt. On the June 2026 order this was done by hand in METRC Connect and the delivery still went out on 2026-06-04."},{"question":"Is there an IsUsed field to filter on?","answer":"Not on the Rhode Island production response. The endpoint returns only unused tags. A filter on IsUsed does nothing and hides the fact that it does nothing."},{"question":"Are hemp tags in the same list?","answer":"In the Rhode Island sandbox, yes: 1,000 Hemp Package tags beside 843 cannabis package tags on 2026-09-07. Exclude them the same way as medical tags. Whether production facilities hold hemp tags was not observed."},{"question":"Can two systems consume the same tag?","answer":"They can try. There is no reservation step, so a tag read as available can be consumed by anyone before the create call, which then fails with HTTP 400 and the message The Package Tag is not available. Retry from a fresh read, and never adopt an existing package at that tag without proof that it is yours."},{"question":"How do I prove that a package at a tag is mine?","answer":"Stamp a note naming your own record onto every package you create, and check that note plus the item name on the single-package GET before linking anything to it. Rhode Island production returns both verbatim."}],"sources":["GET /tags/v2/package/available at one Rhode Island production facility, read-only, 2026-06-04.","Read-only probe of the outgoing transfer the cultivator rebuilt by hand, Rhode Island production, 2026-06-04.","Single-package GET returning Note and Item.Name verbatim, two packages at one Rhode Island production facility, 2026-07-25.","Rhode Island sandbox tag pool read during a packaging pre-flight, 2026-09-07.","SeedLink METRC field guide (docs/METRC.md), section Package Tags: adult-use vs medical."],"citation":"SeedLink, \"METRC package tags in Rhode Island: adult-use and medical share one list, and medical comes first\", observed 2026-09-07, revised 2026-09-20, https://www.seedlink.net/guides/metrc/package-tags-adult-use-vs-medical","methodology":"https://www.seedlink.net/methodology","publisher":"SeedLink"}