Ask a Stoner: Do Dispensaries Accept Temporary IDs?

Dear Stoner: I just moved here from another state and went to the DMV for a new driver’s license. They only gave me a temporary paper ID, and the dispensary said that wasn’t enough to allow me inside. Is that true?
Certified

Dear Certified: A temporary, state-issued ID from Colorado is an acceptable form of identification for dispensaries here, according to the state Marijuana Enforcement Division, but if you don’t have an expired Colorado ID to show bouncers or security guards, the temporary paper ID issued by the state isn’t always enough. Airport security will definitely want more to confirm your identity, for example, and so will most bars. Dispensaries are more of a toss-up.
Paper IDs are easier to fake, but most dispensaries will accept them if they’re relatively undamaged and provide an expiration date and bar code — most, but not all. A dispensary in Boulder (a college town with a lot of fake IDs) wouldn’t let me in with my temporary driver’s license, and because my previous driver’s license was from another state with a hole punched in it (and my passport had recently expired), the security guard said I couldn’t come inside. Translation: Carry a form of backup identification in case they require more, and pray you don’t need to get on a plane in the next eight to thirty days.

Oh, and if you happen to come from a state that issues vertical IDs to minors, beware: Even if you’re now of age but don’t yet have a horizontal ID, bars and dispensaries may refuse you service.

Send questions to [email protected].