WATCH ABOVE: Marijuana dispensaries aren’t so taboo anymore after the state of Washington made marijuana legal last year. Now it seems pot vending machines are the next thing to get used to. Jeff Dubois reports.
TORONTO – An American marijuana distributor is stealing a page from Vancouver’s book – installing a vending machine that spits out pot to qualified customers.
That’s right, a vending machine – coils and all. And it even accepts Bitcoin as payment.
Seattle Caregivers is a medical cannabis dispensary located in Seattle’s international district. They’ve partnered with Arizona-based American Green to introduce the ZaZZZ vending machine to the Washington state market.
READ MORE: Woman owned van for a decade before finding 13 pounds of pot stashed
To put the deal in simple terms, American Green supplies the machines and Seattle Caregivers fills them with either infused-drinks, edibles, flower buds or a combination.
According to American Green’s website, “ZaZZZ is designed to make age-verified vending of cannabis products a reality, by providing a layer of authorization using the same systems as pharmacies for purchase regulation.”
To take the buzz out of vending to youth, access to the machine requires valid identification that will be matched to an image captured by the machine’s camera. A weight sensor on the floor is included for the same purpose.
READ MORE: Seattle pot company rolling 12,000 joints for Super Bowl Sunday
“We’ve got a variety of different ways we can check that ID against who’s standing in front of the machine. And as we like to say, if there’s any doubt, no cannabis comes out,” American Green’s Stephen Shearin told KIRO.
Adding to those restrictions, ZaZZZ is only available at a medical dispensary or pot store. Customers won’t find the vending machine in the middle of a shopping mall.
This isn’t ZaZZZ’s debut – and it’s not a unique device. Last year, in Colorado, the vending machine was a hit with cannabis fans, while a dispensary in British Columbia – the BC Pain Society – chose to employ a similar vending machine to cut down on theft and handling.
READ MORE: Marijuana vending machine comes to Vancouver
Have the munchies? No problem – there’s a vending machine for that too.
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