The Scanning Trend and Why We Don’t ID Scan
With the use of scanning devices of all kinds ever-growing, and our right to privacy becoming more and more endangered, Mary Jane’s House of Grass has taken a stance that may make us seem like the outsider, or behind the times. However, we believe that respecting the privacy of our customers is important, so we’ve decided to stand firm and not use electronic ID scanning devices.
You may have noticed some changes in the local cannabis dispensaries lately. Many of them have adopted the new ID scanners to help verify age. We see this, as many of our customers do, as an unnecessary violation of privacy. When your privacy is compromised, without a good reason, then it just feels wrong.
It’s not required by law to scan your ID when you walk into a dispensary, it is only required to show your ID for the purpose of proving your age. We also know that, even with the scanner, mistakes are made. One local dispensary was recently cited for selling to a minor after their ID was scanned, twice. Not only are scanners an invasion of privacy, but they can also be inaccurate due to the human factor.
In lieu of using a machine to track and profile our customers via a state police database, which many devices link to, we have chosen to train our staff very thoroughly to recognize and dismiss underage IDs, fake IDs, and otherwise unqualified identifications. We are proud to be one of the only Vancouver dispensaries with a completely clean identification record, having never been cited for selling to a minor. That is due to our stringent training programs in cooperation with the LCB.
We want our customers to feel safe and welcomed in our House. Cannabis has been legalized for adult use in Washington state, and we are working hard to destroy the stereotypes and taint of prohibition still circling the industry like vultures. Why feel criminalized for walking into a legal store?
If you’re feeling uncomfortable with the new ID scanning trend, visit Mary Jane’s House of Grass dispensary in Vancouver. We won’t scan your ID into the state system, and we’ll even let you use a nickname for a further level of anonymity. We know you value your privacy, and we do, too.