Pot dispensaries will delete customers information if bill becomes law

Salem, Ore. — Oregon lawmakers are taking steps to protect recreational cannabis users personal information. Senate bill 863 prohibits dispensaries from keeping record of customers’ names and birth dates.

It passed both the house and the senate and is now headed to the governor’s desk for signature. NBC5 spoke with a local dispensary about what will change for the store and it’s customers.

“There will be a few little changes here and there,” Talent Health Club General Manager, Andrew Robison says, “but I think overall it’s a really great step forward towards normalization of cannabis.”

When customers buy recreational pot, dispensaries use information like their name and birth date to keep track of how much they’ve purchased. But if a bill on the governor’s desk becomes law, keeping that information on hand for more than 48 hours would be illegal.

“We’ll have to do a little bit of extra leg work on our end,” Robison says, “but also the burden is going to come a little bit on the point of sale providers end because they’ll have to delete that information that is already stored in our systems.”

The move comes amid some uncertainty regarding whether the federal government will crack down on recreational marijuana.

Talent Health Club Assistant Manager, Casey Casebier thinks customers will welcome the change.

“We have a lot of customers that come in and they just don’t want to give you their information to begin with,” Casebier says.

If passed, dispensaries have 30 days to destroy current records. People will then be put into the system each time they visit, and that information will be wiped no more than 48 hours later. It’s one additional step in the process, but one dispensary managers say ensures another layer of protection and privacy for Oregonians.

“Any time our privacy is being protected it’s a good thing,” Casebier says.

“We deserve to be treated normally,” Robison says, “and allowed to consume whatever we want without being tracked.”

None of the legislators from southern Oregon voted against the bill. However, Alan DeBoer didn’t vote.

The bill does declare an emergency. It says it’s necessary for the preservation of public peace, health and safety. Because of that it would go into effect immediately when the governor signs it.