Your printed voucher will no longer be accepted at dispensaries! | Canna Ley - Lic. Aleczer

I still remember the first time I went in 2016 to apply for my first Authorized Medical Cannabis Patient ID. That day, tears even welled up in my eyes. It seemed unreal; after more than a decade advocating for cannabis legalization, the idea that I could legally buy and consume cannabis in Puerto Rico was a dream come true.

With this authorized patient ID, a person has the right to legally purchase and possess medical cannabis in Puerto Rico, and of course, beyond the reach of the police. Today, there are over 120,000 authorized medical cannabis patients, and although the process can often be a bit tedious and complicated, being able to operate within the law and avoid legal problems is well worth it.

Following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the resulting lack of resources at the Office of Medicinal Cannabis, a voucher system was authorized so that approved patients could receive their treatment immediately without having to wait for the Department of Health to print their card. In many cases, this process could take up to four weeks, and in some cases, months.

This voucher evolved to the point that the printed card was eliminated and the voucher and the printed paper identification were authorized as the official identification mechanism.

This process has changed again and effective during the month of November, the Voucher will no longer be authorized as an official method of identification at dispensaries.

What do you need to do now? Well, now you need a DIGITAL IDENTIFICATION, as established by the Department of Health and its Office of Medicinal Cannabis.

You can access this new DIGITAL ID through this page: www.licenciacannabis.salud.gov.pr or through this page: www.milicenciacannabis.com. Here you will have the option to request your cannabis license from the Medicinal Cannabis Regulatory Board or download your license if you already have it and it is valid.

Once you access this page, simply follow the instructions to download your license. This page even includes a web-based application that you can add to your mobile device's home screen for easy access. It's similar to a VACU ID, but for cannabis.

With this new digital tool, you can instantly view your authorized patient ID and medical recommendation. Since this application is still new, we don't know if there are any bugs or problems with it, but we have already received complaints about how slow the ID download can sometimes be.

Anyway, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT so that you can enter your favorite dispensary from now on. Try it, and if you can't, ask for help at your dispensary; you shouldn't have any problems.

For those who don't yet have a smartphone or aren't very tech-savvy, the dispensary will verify your authorized patient status through a platform provided by the Cannabis Regulatory Board, so don't worry. You know the drill: stay legal and stay safe. A cannabis hug to you all, and until next time.

Mr. Jose Aleczer

@aleczer