The Illinois State Police is clearing the air on misinformation being distributed about recreational marijuana use and gun ownership.
Trooper Mindy Carroll ISP Central Region Public Information Officer responded to questions submitted this morning by WLDS News after multiple news sources and social media posts by the public shared conflicting reports concerning marijuana dispensaries collecting information from consumers that would be stored in a database and potentially interfere with FOID Card holders being able to purchase firearms in the future.
According to the Illinois State Police response, “The law forbids dispensaries from collecting and storing any personal information from adult use cannabis purchasers.”
“Medical users are required to submit information to the Department of Public Health
in order to qualify for a medical cannabis registry identification card. In order to ensure that only qualified medical patients receive the benefits of the lower tax rate and to prevent diversion from the medical program, dispensaries are authorized to collect information about medical patient purchases to ensure that those customers are qualified patients and that they are only purchasing the authorized amount.”
With regard to FOID Card status being in jeopardy due to recreational cannabis use, the, I.S.P. Officials stated that:
“The Illinois State Police will not revoke Firearm’s Owner’s Identification Cards based solely on a person’s legal use of adult use cannabis. Pursuant to both state and federal law, a person who is addicted to or a habitual user of narcotics is not permitted to possess or use firearms.
FOID cards could, however, be revoked for individuals who unlawfully use cannabis, such as driving while under the influence. The use of cannabis is still considered to be illegal by the federal government and the purchase of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer is governed by federal law.”
State Police Officials said that the way FOID Card applications are processed by the State Police will not change due to recreational marijuana sales, that ““ISP will rely on information reported by applicants in their FOID applications as well as state and federal guidelines that define the phrase “addicted to narcotics.””
Officials say that a valid state license or I.D. Card is required to be scanned by the dispensary during checkout to verify the customer is 21 years of age or older, just as retailers are required to do for sales of tobacco or alcohol. ISP Officials stress that the consumers information will not be stored in a database for future use according to state law