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Guidance Memo | GM-2026-07

Performing multiple extractions of cannabis biomass

9/10/2026 8:28:46 AM

Overview

This guidance memo provides best practices and allowances for license holders endorsed for manufacturing who wish to perform additional processing or extraction on spent flower (i.e., biomass) after an initial extraction. This guidance and Metrc Support Bulletin 74 provide information on selling, transferring and tracking the resulting spent biomass.

Authority

Background

To support the emerging cannabis market and to clarify authorized activities of license holders, OCM issues the following guidance on the sale or transfer of previously extracted cannabis flower.

Cannabis flower destined for manufacture may undergo extraction through any of the following methods: manual sifting through fine screens creating kief, a cold-water bath to extract cannabinoids, extraction through heat and pressure, or solvent based extractions using hydrocarbons under pressure. This is not a definitive list of extraction methods and depending on business plans, a business could use one or more extraction methods on the same underlying cannabis flower.

Minnesota law authorizes license holders with cultivation endorsements to sell cannabis flower [Minnesota Statutes, sections 342.28, subd. 1(11); 342.29, subd. 1(13); 342.30, subd. 1(4); 342.515, subd. 1(c)(15)]. Similarly, license holders with manufacturing endorsements may sell cannabis concentrates and products [Minnesota Statutes, sections 342.28, subd. 1(11); 342.29, subd. 1(13); 342.31, subd. 1(10); 342.515, subd. 1(c)(14) and (15)]. Minnesota Rules, part 9810.1200, subp. 2, requires that cannabis businesses discard all cannabis waste.

Guidance

License holders authorized to sell cannabis flower or manufacture cannabis products may purchase, sell or otherwise transfer previously extracted cannabis flower, referred to in Metrc as SPENT CANNABIS BIOMASS (BULK). Specific manufacturers may specialize in, or only conduct limited types of extraction, resulting in otherwise spent cannabis flower that may have additional economic value.

Manufacturers will be required to segregate post-extraction material into two categories: (1) the manufactured product(s) and (2) spent cannabis biomass (bulk).

Cannabis transporters, or license holders authorized to transfer cannabis and cannabis products, must comply with all transportation requirements in Minnesota Statutes, section 342.36 and all other applicable statutes and rules. Spent cannabis biomass may not be marketed for retail sale.

Metrc guidance

All license holders are required to record all manufacturing processes in Metrc using a processing job.

When cannabis flower, cannabis shake or trim, or other cannabis biomass is used in an extraction processing job, the resulting biomass byproduct must either be recorded as a processing job’s waste or a SPENT CANNABIS BIOMASS (BULK) item in Metrc. Any cannabis biomass that has gone through an extraction process that is not recorded as SPENT CANNABIS BIOMASS (BULK) after the process is waste and must be destroyed according to the businesses’ internal standard operating procedures (SOPs).

For example, a manufacturer could use 100 grams of cannabis flower as an input to a processing job for extraction. At the end of the process, the business weighs the cannabis biomass at 80 grams. The business could create a new package with the item category of SPENT CANNABIS BIOMASS (BULK) with the quantity of 80 grams or less. Any cannabis biomass that is not packaged after extraction should be recorded as waste in the processing job and destroyed according to SOPs.

SPENT CANNABIS BIOMASS (BULK) can only be sent to another manufacturer or undergo further processing in-house and does not have any testing requirements. Once cannabis biomass has undergone processing and been recorded as spent biomass, it cannot be marketed for retail sale.

Review Metrc Support Bulletin 74 to learn more.

Metrc resources