Para ordenar al Superintendente de la Policía de Puerto Rico a establecer un mecanismo de acceso limitado al Sistema REAL+ a favor del Departamento de Salud, con el único propósito de corroborar si un solicitante o poseedor de licencia de cannabis medicinal posee licencia de armas de fuego vigente; ordenar al Secretario de Salud a proveer a la Policía de Puerto Rico acceso limitado al Registro de Pacientes y Licencias de Cannabis Medicinal vigentes; disponer que dicho acceso será exclusivamente para fines de verificación previa a la expedición o renovación de licencias cuando las disposiciones legales resulten excluyentes entre sí; disponer para la protección de datos; y para otros fines relacionados.

2025-2028 Session

Puerto Rico bill authorizes police-health department data sharing to verify whether medical cannabis applicants hold active firearms licenses, enforcing legal restrictions where both licenses conflict.

Referido a Comisión(es)

Legislative bill overview

Bill RCC 294 establishes a data-sharing mechanism between Puerto Rico's Police Department and Department of Health to cross-check whether medical cannabis license applicants or holders possess active firearms licenses. The bill mandates limited access to both the REAL+ firearms system and the medical cannabis patient registry, exclusively for pre-issuance or pre-renewal verification when legal provisions create conflicting eligibility criteria.

Why is this important

This addresses a practical administrative challenge: Puerto Rico law may prohibit simultaneous possession of medical cannabis licenses and active firearms licenses, but currently lacks an efficient verification system. The bill attempts to enforce legal restrictions by enabling real-time background checks during license processing, potentially preventing individuals from legally holding both licenses simultaneously.

Potential points of contention

Privacy concerns: Sharing medical cannabis registry data with police raises questions about patient privacy protections, scope of "limited access," and whether medical information should be accessible to law enforcement for non-criminal purposes

Data security and scope creep: Establishing government databases access precedents may lead to mission drift, where systems initially limited to specific verification purposes expand to broader surveillance or enforcement activities

Due process implications: Cannabis applicants may face license denials without clear notice that firearms ownership triggered the rejection, and unclear appeal procedures exist

Definitional ambiguity: "Excluyentes entre sí" (mutually exclusive) lacks precise legal definition—unclear which specific laws trigger mandatory cross-checking and what constitutes grounds for denial