The sale of cannabis for recreational purposes in states like South Dakota, New Jersey, and New York is legal. However, implementing restrictions is still a challenge among these places.
It is illegal to sell cannabis to individuals under the age of 21. Retail stores can lose their license if caught selling to anyone underaged. While physical shops can require customers to present their IDs to confirm their age, verifying online buyers is difficult.
Recognizing the authenticity of identification forms relies on the document’s manual examination. Fake or forged IDs are very common in the US. Scott Limmer Law revealed that about 32.2% of college students and 12.5% of pre-college youth possess counterfeit identification cards.
Also, some online age verification methods just ask users to enter their birthdate or age, which people can easily falsify. It is possible that some minors are circumventing the law and acquiring cannabis by buying online.
More than preventing being penalized, cannabis sellers hold responsibility for the proper distribution of their products. Enterprises need to implement a stronger age verification method for their online customers.
Automated document verification and facial biometric identity authentication are ideal for replacing conventional age checks. Using products like Proof™ by authID can validate a driver’s license by crosschecking it with government registries. This process is then reinforced by biometric matching and liveness detection to confirm that the person holding the ID is present and the actual ID owner.
The advancing policies on the use of cannabis for recreational purposes now put a heavier emphasis on the execution of fool-proof digital identity verification procedures. Relying on simple user questions is not enough. Cannabis sellers need to upgrade their age checking facilities with the right technology to avoid underage cannabis use.
Learn more about cannabis Sales and the need for trusted age verification in an infographic by authID.
