The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is exploring the possibility of allowing biometric forms of identification.such as fingerprints, palms, or facial features for alcohol and cannabis purchases in lieu of government issued I.D. cards.
The issue was discussed at a work session of the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee in late September.
From shopping convenience and speedy lines to privacy concerns and security questions, LCB Policy Director Justin Nordhorn joined us to weigh in on the potential pros and cons of the proposal.
“Where the risk really comes in, is that upfront component on how people are getting into the system and what’s verified,” said Nordhorn. “There’s not a high level participation in the state registry for the medical cannabis program. And part of that concern is, ‘I don’t want to have my name on the list. And so when you’re looking at biometrics, if that name is and the biometrics are going to be on in some database, what does that mean for the people?”
Watch the interview here:
For many years, thousands upon thousands of untested sexual assault evidence kits were sitting in storage at police agencies across Washington.
This year, state law enforcement officials announced the end was finally in sight and more than 10,000 untested kits had been cleared from shelves and sent for testing. In October, the state attorney general’s office reported that clearing the backlog had helped solve at least 21 sexual assault cases so far.
Washington State Patrol Communications Director Chris Loftis joined us in the studio to talk about the legislation that helped put an end to the backlog and what the progress means for survivors and suspects.
“We realized that not only was not doing this testing a further indignity to the survivors,” said Loftis. “We were adding to the possibility that a repeat offender might simply just go somewhere else and do this again to someone else.”
Watch the interview here: