Oregon Lawmakers Trying To Prevent Marijuana Shops From Selling Customer Info
<h2>Oregon Lawmakers Trying To Prevent Marijuana Shops From Selling Customer Info
Consumerist
Mary Beth Quirk
If you live in a state with legalized recreational marijuana and take advantage of your right to shop at your local pot shop, that retailer might know things about you that you’d rather keep private. That’s why Oregon may soon make it against the law for marijuana retailers to collect or sell their customers’ information.
After passing in the Senate last month by a vote of 21-6, the House voted 53-5 in favor of sending SB863 [PDF] to the desk of Gov. Kate Brown, who is expected to sign it, reports The Associated Press.
Some Oregon pot retailers currently collect customer information — things like names, addresses, and dates of birth — usually gleaned from driver’s licenses or other forms of ID presented as proof of age. In some cases, this data may be linked to records of what each customer purchased.
For example, if your local pot shop knows you really have a thing for peanut butter and chocolate cannabis candy, maybe you’ll get a postcard in the mail when the store is having a sale. This is a common enough practice in traditional retail, but most retailers aren’t selling a product that the federal government still considers a Schedule 1 controlled substance.