PRIVACY POLICY

August 8, 2022

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Ascend Wellness Holdings, LLC and its affiliates (“AWH”, “Us”, “Our”, or “We”) collects, uses, maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a “User”) of the www.awholdings.com, www.letsascend.com and mobile and other applications, and any other services where this Website Privacy Policy is posted (“Site”). This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) applies to the Site and communications generated via the Site, and by providing personally identifiable information to us or by using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy. The Site and the information provided in this Policy is solely intended for Users within the United States of America.

This Privacy Policy is governed by our Terms of Use, which is also available on our Site. If there are any inconsistencies between our Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy controls.

SENSITIVE INFORMATION

Do not send us any sensitive personal information about yourself or others (e.g., Social Security numbers, information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or philosophical beliefs, health, sex life or sexual orientation, criminal background, or trade union membership, or biometric or genetic data for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual) on or through the Site.

USE BY MINORS

This Site is intended for persons 21 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect information from individuals under 21 years of age, children, or minors.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

Third-party partners and AWH, may collect personally identifiable information from Users when they visit our Site and submit their information via our Contact Form [does this have its own disclaimer?] or sign up for our newsletter. Users may be asked for their name, email address, mailing address and/or phone number, or other similar information. We will collect this personally identifiable information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Users can always refuse to supply personally identifiable information, except that it may prevent them from engaging in Site-related activities or receiving responses to their inquiries or other information of interest such as our newsletter.

NON-PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

Third-party partners and AWH may automatically collect non-personally identifiable information about Users whenever they interact with our Site. Non-personally identifiable information may include Users’ browser name, demographic data about Users, the amount of pages Users visited on the Site, whether Users have previously accessed the Site, the type of computer and technical information about Users’ means of connection to our Site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized, and other similar information.

In addition, AWH may use third party services such as Google Analytics that collect, monitor and analyze this type of information in order to increase our Site’s functionality. These third-party service providers have their own tracking mechanisms such as cookies or web beacons to collect this information as well as privacy policies addressing how they use such information.

CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

California residents have certain rights regarding our collection and use of personal information under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA” or the “Act”). For purposes of this “CCPA Section,” the term “personal information” means personal information under Cal. Civ. Code 1798.140(o). To the extent that any other provision of this Privacy Policy conflicts with a provision of this CCPA Section, the provision in this section controls as to California residents.

Rights:

California residents may:

  • Request that we delete their personal information.
  • Opt-out of the sale of their personal information.

Request information about:

(i) the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about them;
(ii) the categories of sources from which we have collected their personal information;
(iii) the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling their personal information;
(iv) the categories of personal information we have sold about them; and
(v) the categories of third parties with whom we have shared, disclosed for a business purpose, or sold their personal information, and which categories of personal information we have sold to which categories of third parties.

We will not discriminate against California residents for exercising their rights under the CCPA.

Requests for Information

California residents may request that we provide certain information about our use of their personal information, as specified above. Upon receiving a request from a California resident, we will take reasonable steps to verify the person‘s identity. We will respond to a verified person's request by: (a) providing the requested information, or (b) explaining to the requestor why the Act does not require us to provide the requested information.

We will respond to requests for information within 45 days. If a response requires additional time, we will notify the requestor of the basis for the delay and may extend our response period up to an additional 90 days. If the Act requires us to provide the information requested to the person, we will provide the information covering the 12 months preceding the request, free of charge, and in a readily useable portable format. We have no obligation to provide personal information to a California resident more than twice in a 12-month period. If a request or series of requests are manifestly unfounded or excessive, we may charge a reasonable fee for processing the request(s) or may refuse to process the request(s).

Requests to Opt Out

California users may opt out of the sale of their personal information by contacting us at [email protected]; subject line “CCPA Request.”

Requests to Delete

California residents may request that we delete their personal information. Upon receiving a request from a California resident, we will take reasonable steps to verify the person’s identity. We will respond to a verified person‘s request by: (a) deleting their personal information and, if applicable, directing our service providers to delete their personal information; or (ii) explaining to the requestor why the Act does not require us to delete their personal information.

WEB BROWSER COOKIES

Our Site may use “cookies” to enhance User experience. Users’ web browsers place cookies on their hard drives for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. Users may choose to set their web browsers to refuse cookies, or to alert them when cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function properly.

HOW WE USE COLLECTED INFORMATION

AWH may collect and use Users’ information for the following purposes: (1) to respond to User requests, and (2) improve User service. The information you provide helps us respond to your questions and requests more efficiently.

To send Users information they agreed to receive: We may send you information about topics we think may be of interest to you such as our newsletters.

To send periodic emails: We may use your provided email address to send you information and updates. We may also use this information to respond to your inquiries, questions and/or other requests.

To personalize User experience: We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our Users as a group use the Site.

To improve our Site: We may use information we have collected to improve the Site or our other services.

NOTICE REGARDING MEDICAL ADVICE

THE SITE DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL OR OTHER LICENSED PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. NOTHING STATED OR POSTED ON THIS SITE OR AVAILABLE THROUGH ANY SERVICES ARE INTENDED TO BE, AND MUST NOT BE TAKEN TO BE, THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. THE SITE MATERIALS, SUCH AS TEXT, GRAPHICS, IMAGES, AND INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THIS SITE ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE SITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR OTHER QUALIFIED HEALTH PROVIDER WITH ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE REGARDING A MEDICAL CONDITION. NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF INFORMATION YOU HAVE OBTAINED THROUGH THIS SITE. IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR 911 IMMEDIATELY

AWH HIPAA PRIVACY POLICY

Protecting the privacy of your health information is important. This notice of our HIPAA privacy policy (“Notice”) describes how AWH collects, stores, and uses protected health information, and your rights as required by the State of Illinois, consistent with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) Privacy Rule.
If you have any questions about this Notice or our Privacy Policy, please email us at [email protected], subject “HIPAA Request.” If you wish to receive a paper copy of this notice at any time contact [email protected], subject “HIPAA Request.”

AWH

AWH will share protected health information of patients and adult-use customers as necessary to carry out treatment, payment, and health care operations as permitted by law. This Notice is specifically applicable to AWH dispensary locations serving medical patients in the State of Illinois.

AWH Responsibilities

We respect the privacy of your health information. Each time you visit us or order online from one of our Illinois dispensaries, we may record your personal information, Protected Health Information as defined under HIPAA, and payment information (“Information”). These records may be kept on paper, electronically, or stored by other media. AWH is required by law to:

  • Maintain the privacy and security of your Information
  • Notify you following a breach of your unsecured Information
  • Provide this Notice to you and describe the ways we may use and share your Information
  • Notify you of your rights regarding your Information
  • Follow the terms of this Notice.

We reserve the right to make changes to this Notice and our Privacy Policy at any time and to apply new privacy or security practices to Information we maintain. Our website will contain the most current version of our Notice.

AWH Uses and Disclosures

This Notice explains how we may use and share your Information to provide services, obtain payment for these services, and operate our business. We do not need your authorization to use or disclose your Information in the following circumstances:

  • To provide Information related to treatment, payment, and health care operations.
  • Use and share your Information to run our business, improve your care, and contact you when necessary.
  • Use and share your Information to bill and get payment for our services and dispensed therapies, unless you pay directly and tell us not to share your Information for payment purposes
  • To provide limited Information for the purposes of research, public health, product recalls, and other safety issues; including reporting to the Department of Health adverse events, product defects, or to participate in product recalls.
  • As permitted or required by law, including disclosures to courts and other government agencies
  • To a government oversight agency conducting audits, investigations, civil or criminal proceedings.

You have the right to revoke such authorization in writing, with such revocation being effective once we actually receive the writing; however, such revocation shall not be effective to the extent that we have taken any action in reliance on the authorization

Your Rights

We will not use or share your Information for any reason other than those described in this Notice without a written authorization signed by you or a person legally authorized to act on your behalf (an “Authorized Agent”). An authorization is a document that you sign that directs us to use or disclose specific information for a specific purpose. Access to your Information: You may access and receive a copy of the Information that we retain on your behalf. For Information that we maintain electronically, you may request a copy in a reasonable electronic format, if readily producible. Requests for access must be made in writing and signed by you or an Authorized Agent. Amend Certain Records: You can ask us to correct or amend Information that you think is incorrect or incomplete. To make this request you should, contact us with the request as described below. We may say “no” to your request, but we will tell you why in writing within 60 days. Requests to Limit Disclosures: You may ask us not to use or share certain Information. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for our service or product out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that Information. Receive Confidential Communications: You may ask us to contact you in a special way. You will need to ask us in writing. We will try to grant reasonable requests.

To submit a request to receive, verify, or correct your Information, email us at [email protected], subject “HIPAA Request.” Only you or an Authorized Agent may make a request related to your Information. Receive an Accounting of Disclosures: You may request an accounting of the people or organizations, outside of AWH., with whom we have disclosed your Information.

Breach Notification

A breach is an impermissible use or disclosure under the HIPAA that compromises the security or privacy of your Information.  AWH will notify you in the event a breach occurs involving or potentially involving your Information and will provide you with information on what steps to take to protect your Information.
In the event of a breach, you are to contact the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Responsibility at FPR@[email protected] and the Illinois Department of Public Health at [email protected].

Further Information and Complaints

If you would like more information about your privacy rights, file a complaint, are concerned that we have violated your privacy rights, disagree with a decision that we made about access to your protected health information, or would like further information about AWH’s privacy policies, please email us at [email protected]  We will not take action against you if you file a complaint with us or with a state agency.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We will retain information we collect via the Site for as long as we believe it is useful, for the purposes outlined above. If you cease using the Site for any reason, we may continue to use this information for the purposes outlined in this Policy as amended from time to time. We are under no obligation to retain information we have collected via this Site under this Policy. We seek to use commercially-reasonable data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of your personal information under our control.

However, no data transmission over the Internet or data storage system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee that your use of our Site will be completely safe. We encourage you to use caution when using the Internet or sharing your personal information

We do not sell, trade, or rent Users’ personally identifiable information to others. We may employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate our Site and to provide Site-related services and/or to assist us in analyzing how our Site is used. These third parties have access to your personally identifiable information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use your information for any other purpose.

Users’ personally identifiable information may be disclosed to a third party if we are required to do so because of an applicable law, court order or governmental regulation, or if such disclosure is otherwise necessary in support of any criminal or other legal investigation or proceeding. Users’ personally identifiable information may be disclosed to a third party if the disclosure is reasonably related to the sale or other disposition of all or part of our business or assets.

We may share generic, aggregated demographic information not linked to personally identifiable information with third-party partners, affiliates, or service providers for the purposes outlined above.

We may use third-party services such as Google Analytics to analyze non- personally identifiable information as described above, and those service providers may use this information subject to their own privacy policies.

B. Sharing Your Information

We may disclose anonymized aggregated information about our Users, that does not identify any individual, without any restriction. We may share your Information as set forth in the Website Privacy Policy and in the following circumstances:

  • Third-Party Service Providers. We may share your Information with third-party service providers that perform certain functions or services on our behalf (such as to host the Services, fulfill orders, provide products and services, manage databases, perform analyses, process credit card payments, provide customer service, or send communications for us). These third-party service providers are authorized to use your Information only as necessary to provide these services to us. In some instances, we may aggregate Information we collect so third parties do not have access to your particular Information to identify you individually.
  • Disclosure of Information for Legal and Administrative Reasons. We may disclose your Information without notice: (i) when required by law or to comply with a court order, subpoena, search warrant, or other legal process; (ii) to cooperate or undertake an internal or external investigation or audit; (iii) to comply with legal, regulatory or administrative requirements of governmental authorities (including, without limitation, requests from the governmental agency authorities to view your Information); (iv) to protect and defend the rights, property or safety of us, our subsidiaries and affiliates and any of their officers, directors, employees, attorneys, agents, contractors and partners, and the Website Service users; (v) to enforce or apply our Terms & Conditions; and (vi) to verify the identity of the user of our Services.
  • Business Transfers. Your Information may be transferred, sold or otherwise conveyed (“Conveyed”) to a third party where we: (i) merge with or are acquired by another business entity; (ii) sell all or substantially all of our assets; (iii) are adjudicated bankrupt; or (iv) are liquidated or otherwise reorganize. You agree to any and all such Conveyances of your Information.
  • Information Shared with our Subsidiaries and Affiliates. We may share your Information with our subsidiaries and affiliates. If you do not want us to share your Information with your subsidiaries and affiliates, please email us at [email protected].
  • Online Communications (Chat Rooms, Forums, Contests, Message Boards). If you correspond with us by email, questionnaires, surveys, social media, or other digital online platform, we may retain such correspondence and the Information contained in it and use it to respond to your inquiry. Our Services may include chat rooms, forums, and message boards that are available to you and other users. You are not required to provide any Information when using these areas, but you may choose to do so. If you post personal Information online, you agree you have no expectation of privacy concerning that Information, that it will be publicly available and that you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties. We cannot ensure the security of any Information you choose to make public in a chat room, forum, or message board. Also, we cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available Information will respect your privacy. Please exercise caution when deciding to disclose Information in these areas. To request removal of your personal Information from our blog or community forum, contact us at [email protected]. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your Information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

1.

  • With Your Consent. We may share Information consistent with this Website Privacy Policy with your consent.

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

Our Site may contain links to sites of third parties. We do not control the content or links that appear on these sites and are not responsible for these sites. These sites may have their own privacy policies. Browsing and interaction on any other website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website’s own terms and policies.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

AWH has the discretion to update or change this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes will become effective when the revised Privacy Policy is posted on the Site. Your use of the Site following these changes means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy. We recommend that you regularly review the Privacy Policy when you visit the Site.

This Policy was last updated August 8, 2022

Your acceptance of these terms By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of this Policy. If you do not agree to this Policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this Policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.

ACCESSING, CHANGING, OR DELETING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

If you would like to review, correct, update, restrict, or delete your personal information, please contact us via one of the methods described below.

CONTACTING US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us via the contact form on our Contact Us page or please write to the following address and/or email:

Ascend Wellness Holdings LLC.
Attn: Website Administrator
Email: [email protected]

By Mail: 1411 Broadway, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018