Medical marijuana registry snafu makes private records public

The private information of as many as two dozen medical marijuana patients was improperly handled, according to 7News. The John Ferrugia report claims that "sensitive information in the medical marijuana registry, including names, dates of births and Social Security numbers" were sent out via mail, stapled to a packet of...

By William Breathes

February 24, 2012

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The private information of as many as two dozen medical marijuana patients was improperly handled, according to 7News. The John Ferrugia report claims that "sensitive information in the medical marijuana registry, including names, dates of births and Social Security numbers" were sent out via mail, stapled to a packet of information intended for another medical marijuana patient.

Ron Hyman, director of the registry, said it was likely a mistake made by an employee who thought the e-mail was a "piece of scrap paper."

Hyman admitted to Ferrugia that this wasn't an isolated incident. It had apparently taken place at least fourteen times, and there may be more cases about which the registry isn't aware. "We encourage people, anyone, who believe that they may have had an instance when their information was inappropriately handed out to contact us so we can make a corrective action," Hyman said.

According to the story, "Hyman said it's been a learning experience and he wants to continually improve the process." That's a pretty nice way of saying someone made a rather large fuck-up.

You can read the original story and watch the 7News broadcast here.

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