What Your Cannabis Business Employees Need to Know About Fake IDs

If you’re a cannabis facility manager licensed to sell adult-use marijuana, you already know that it is crucial to adhere to State and local regulations in order to keep the facility open for business.

Violating these regulations can cause a facility to receive fines, suspension of business, or even loss of license. One of the most common violations of State and local law is selling cannabis to someone under the age of 21.

Spotting a fake ID might sound like a simple task, but with modern technology, the fake IDs that are being produced are detailed replicas of valid IDs and are becoming harder for untrained eyes to catch.

BuildMySOP invited ID expert and educator Russel Wright to join our podcast Ask The Regulator, to discuss how to spot fake IDs and the reasons why it is crucial that facilities invest in standard

operating procedures and regular employee training.

In this article, we will go over what IDs are accepted in a cannabis business, how to spot a fake ID, and the tools that every employee should be trained to use consistently in order to recognize fake IDs.

What Your Cannabis Business Employees Need to Know About Fake IDs

IDs that are accepted in a cannabis business transaction
What to look for when verifying an ID
How to spot a fake ID & examples of fakes
Tools that can help in spotting a fake ID
Next Steps

What IDs are Accepted in a Cannabis Business Transaction?

If you’ve ever visited a cannabis retail store, you know that the very first thing you’ll be asked to do is show your ID to prove your date of birth and identity.

Most commonly, customers provide their state-issued driver’s license, but other government-issued IDs that include a photo, date of birth, and name are legally acceptable to conduct a cannabis sale.

Other acceptable forms of government-issued IDs include passports, military IDs, Tribal IDs, passport cards, and permanent resident cards also known as Green Cards.

This is great for the consumer, but can make spotting a fake more difficult for the cannabis retail employee.

With 50 state IDs that change year to year, 574 recognized Tribal Identification Cards, and a variety of Military IDs that represent status and type, there are a lot of ID designs that employees need to be familiar with.

What to Look for to Verify an ID

In order to check the ID`s validity, employees need to keep the following things in mind while reviewing an ID; the date of birth, the color and feel of the ID, the photo, holograms, print & typography, etching, and signature.

Date of Birth

Customers must be over 21 to legally purchase marijuana for adult use in states where it is legal to do so.

The Feel & Color

By handling the IDs, employees can check for inconsistencies in the material of the ID, noting the weight, the durability, the flimsiness, etc.

Coloring on the ID should be consistent and aligned with the type of ID. If the coloring appears faded or too vibrant, it is a red flag for a fake ID.

UV & Typography

A UV light illuminates the holograms and other patterns that most government-issued IDs use to help deter falsified versions.

Many times, a fake ID will look runny or smudgy under the UV light. Or it might be missing the holograms and other patterns only detected under the UV light.

Type fonts can look inconsistent with the state’s usual font type, or it can be more bolded or even smudged. So carefully observing the ID for unusual printing can help employees detect a fake ID.

The Image

The quality and positioning of the photo can indicate a fake ID. If the photo appears too digitized or pixelated or too good, it’s a red flag.

Also, the shadows in the photo can indicate a falsified ID. If there is no shadow, or if the shadow appears inserted or unnatural, it could be fake. If the photo looks cut out and pasted on the blue background, it`s likely fake.

The facial expression in the photo can also be a big indicator when deciding if the ID is fake or valid. Smiling is often not allowed, so if the person in the photo has a big grin, that is a sign that it’s a fake ID.

The Signature

IDs have to be signed, and oftentimes, when the ID is falsified, the signature might look like a type font and unnatural.

Etching

Many states are now using fine holes in their issued IDs and when held to the light, you can see the formation. This is a great way to validate an ID.

For example, the state of California has its state bear etched into its ID. Sometimes the fakes will have two bears etched, the design is incomplete, or placed incorrectly on the ID.

How To Spot a Fake ID

Being diligent, paying attention, and making a reasonable effort while checking IDs is the best form of practice for all employees working in a cannabis dispensary.

Bud experts agree that there is a strategy for checking IDs and these strategies should be followed. Employees should be trained to look at the ID, look at the person, note the feel of the ID, scan it, check it under UV light, and ask for a second opinion if they are not sure.

Tools that Can Help in Spotting a Fake ID

In addition to these practices, there are tools that can help in the review process as well including the ID Guide Book, blacklight, a ‘loop’ or jeweler`s magnifying glass, and a scanner.

ID Guide Book

The ID Guide Books are a wonderful resource for employees to use when validating IDs. Many dispensaries have these books at the front of the retail store where the first ID check is conducted.

The books are issued every year and contain photos of the most recent Government-issued IDs, in addition to what the IDs look like under a black light to help the viewer know what they should be looking for.

Blacklight

Blacklights are used to illuminate the holograms and other patterns on IDs that aren’t otherwise detectable. When reviewing an ID under a blacklight, employees should search for the holograms and study them, looking for tampering or unusual ink bleeding.

Loop (aka jeweler’s magnifying glass)

The print on an ID can be so detailed and small that magnifying the ID can help a good fake to be spotted.

By using the loop, cannabis dispensary employees can check for misprints, differences in type, and inconsistencies. The ink should be very black and very precise and there should not be bleeding

of the ink or faded colors.

Scanner

Government IDs can be scanned to check for the IDs validity as well as the age of the cardholder. But many of the fake IDs that are coming out of China are tested as valid in the scanners.

Some scanning systems are more sophisticated than others and will also check for microprinting, holograms, UV light, infrared which can be helpful, but good fakes can still pass the system.

Next Steps

As mentioned, fakes can be hard to detect so checking customer IDs for cannabis sales should not be taken lightly. This is why employee training is crucial in protecting your cannabis business.

Employees must be knowledgeable and pay close attention to the customer behaviors in addition to the details of the ID itself when reviewing IDs.

Be sure to check out our podcast Ask The Regulator to learn more about spotting a fake ID. And if you’re curious about our custom-designed Standard Operating Procedures made specifically for the Cannabis Industry, visit BuildMySOP.com.

Next time, we are discussing the importance of employee training, and how retail Cannabis Standard Operating Procedures can help save money by spotting a fake ID.