If the home delivery of marijuana was ever legalized, it’d change the cannabis industry. Not completely, of course, the industry is solid and here to stay. Yet, home delivery would offer options that physically going to brick and mortar stores don’t. And, naturally, it’d change the meaning of “carrier pigeons.” Still, home delivery isn’t something that’s going to happen soon – at least not in the sense that every legal state will suddenly drop dope off at your door. There’s pros and cons to the idea. And, in the name of consistency, plenty of red tape.
Marijuana through the Mail
As most people know by now, Canada is legalizing cannabis on a national level. As part of their plans, they hope to regulate a system that allows marijuana in the mail. Because they’re legalizing on the federal level, this is doable. But south, back in the United States, we can’t do this:
We can’t stick a postage stamp on Mary Jane and send her on her merry way.
We’re aware that cannabis remains illegal in the eyes of the feds; send it by FedEx and they’ll be FedUp enough to toss you into prison. If we were to legalize as an entire country, marijuana via mail may become possible. But, until we do, the postal system will carry letters and packages, but not pot. Fun fact related to postal workers: men are male, but not all men are mailmen. The postal service aside, the delivery of marijuana via private courier services or directly from dispensaries is something that’s doable. But it’s not universally legal. At least not yet.
The Delivery Systems that Exist
Still, just because something fails to be legal, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. If everyone abided by the law, the War on Drugs would have been a smashing success (besides, if everyone obeyed the law, the War on Drugs wouldn’t have existed in the first place). This same logic is applied to delivery systems: they’ve popped up in legal states, with G-Men in pursuit, pointing their fingers and reminding us that that’s not allowed. But Colorado may be adopting an “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” stance: lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow both medical and recreational dispensaries to deliver directly to homes. The reasoning behind this is simple: if it’s going to happen anyway, it’s better that it happens in a regulated environment. The benefits of this are immense. It’s more convenient for anyone who smokes pot the same way pizza delivery is more convenient for anyone with taste buds. Yet this idea isn’t only an advantage to the medicinal industry; it’s a necessity as well. Many medical marijuana patients are suffering from conditions that make leaving the house difficult and, perhaps, impossible –
Delivery gives them one less thing to worry about. It’s a compassionate option, one that refuses to say, “If you want pot, prove it.”
For people who don’t purchase cannabis, delivery may be helpful in another way: it would cut down on traffic. Since many dispensaries are located in downtowns, places where rush hour is really rush hours, anything that decreases the number of cars on the road is something many citizens would welcome. Finally, weed delivery may also decrease the amount of people driving while high. Medical marijuana patients with pain that requires a constant flow of cannabis (or recreational users whose boredom requires this), can order in rather than head out onto the streets.
The Muddying of the Waters
Delivery is a good idea and, in likelihood, where we’re headed. But it’s not without its issues either. A few of these include: Delivery limitations: The Colorado law discussed above addresses this and prevents delivery of marijuana to any homes near schools, playgrounds, day care centers, public parks, dorm rooms, and hotels (as well as a few other areas). The safety of delivery drivers: Cars taking and delivering money to places like banks and casinos are armored for a reason – a van with a cash management logo is pretty much a logo that says, “rob me.”
A car filled with marijuana might be appealing to people looking for a quick score
This doesn’t make it undoable, but it does require precautions. The hiring of more security personnel is an option - people who are big and scary looking. Knowing who you’re selling to: In every legal state, people under twenty-one can’t purchase marijuana. This is regulated the same way alcohol is regulated: you’re asked to show your ID (sometimes more than once). But ordering via phone or online makes age verification more difficult. This may require the recipient to be home at the time their pot is dropped off, with valid identification ready to go. The safety of the product: Anyone who’s ever set foot inside a dispensary knows to say “Cheese” (even if they’re not interested in that particular strain). Yep, pot shops have enough cameras to rival Las Vegas. A delivery vehicle can be wired for cameras too, but not as comprehensively (at least not without shelling out a ton of dough). This isn’t necessarily a deal breaker, but it requires careful monitoring of inventory and extreme vetting of delivery drivers (if they forced a classmate to eat glue back in kindergarten, that might be a red flag). It rocks the boat: We’ve talked a lot about Jeff Sessions in previous articles and for good reason: he could shake the marijuana industry up. Colorado, a state set to open cannabis clubs, recently backed off their plans because of the present administration: they don’t want to invite a federal crackdown by pushing the limits.
Delivery may rock the state/federal boat
Because Sessions is already anti-pot, any type of innovation that lets people access it more easily may draw his attention. And that’s something that could be bad for the entire industry. Marijuana delivery is a controversial topic, but a lot of things are controversial in their infancy. Who knows, maybe someone, somewhere, believed pizza delivery to be as provocative (you’re giving people convenient access to saturated fat!). However, odds are strong that dope at the front door is coming down the pike. It’ll get here eventually; it’s only a matter of when.