Do pharmacies share your information with the government?

Do pharmacies share information with the government? The short answer is probably not. Pharmacies have little incentive to share customer information with the state or federal government. Additionally, the information pharmacies collect from customers varies from state to state. Government access to pharmacy information could also depend on the pharmacy’s thoroughness in tracking and protecting customer or “member” data.

In rare circumstances, however, pharmacy customers could risk the federal government obtaining a record of purchases made by all customers at a particular pharmacy if the FBI were to close a pharmacy in a legal state. Remember folks: while cannabis might be legal in your state, it remains illegal at the federal level.

There is precedent for the federal government to intervene in pharmacy operations in constitutional states. For example, in 2011 some California dispensaries were warned by federal prosecutors for violating the state’s medical marijuana statute.

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Fortunately, the federal government seems more concerned with regulating the cannabis business than with the use of cannabis or cannabis-based products by individuals. And although the DOJ has reversed its practices based on who occupies the Oval Office, the Biden administration has confirmed it will take a “hands-off” approach to cannabis-related law enforcement.

One last thing to keep in mind: Regardless of a pharmacy’s data-sharing practices, federal government employees may still be required to submit to drug tests and may not test positive for THC.

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As late as 2021, Valerie Kerben, senior security adviser to the Special Security Directorate of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, reiterated the federal government’s position on maintaining a “drug-free workplace,” according to the public sector news publication Government Executive. Kerben’s comment came after the House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act. The Senate has yet to decide on the MORE Act.

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