California Marijuana Market Breaking "Marijuana News" from CA
California stoners in need of quick weed have a new tool at their fingertips: a smartphone app that lets you order medical marijuana delivery in the Los Angeles area.
“We’re entrepreneurs, and we saw a need in the market, and we decided to fill that need,” said Roddy Rodnia, co-founder of the Nestdrop app. “We want to make it more convenient for the people who are dealing with certain types of ailments, and we want to make it easier for them to be able to get their medication without having to make an awkward trip out to the store.”
Nestdrop allows patients to order medical weed over the phone. Various pot shops then deliver the product to patients’ doors.
Rodnia said his company partners with Los Angeles dispensaries, which provide the pot and deliver throughout Southern California. They boast delivery within an hour to all locations around Los Angeles.
“We’re happy to say that we’re the first app to do this,” said Nestdrop’s other co-founder, Michael Pycher. “There’s no way to screw around with the law here, so you have to do everything that we normally would, we’re just giving you a new platform to do it. So you have to have your state-issued photo ID, your medical Marijuana card, and your doctor’s recommendation.”
Los Angeles may be the ideal place for an app that brings pot from door to door without retail middlemen. City officials have been cracking down on illegal dispensaries, forcing many to convert into delivery services.
L.A. voters approved a measure last year that limits the number of legitimate pot shops to less than 150. The city is trying to drive the remaining shops out of town, but many are turning to delivery instead.
That’s in part because the laws covering delivery services are vague. The measure approved in Los Angeles only applies to dispensaries, and delivery services say they don’t fall under that definition. The question hasn’t been settled, though officials say the delivery operations must play by the same rules.
Some dispensary owners in the city said they’re not worried delivery will cut into their business. They called the app a good idea.
“The (number of) people who still want the delivery service is very small compared to the people that want to come and see it themselves,” said Paizley Bradbury of Compassion Union Dispensary. “So I don’t think it’s going to be a competitive thing.”
Nestdrop was set to launch in November. Legal observers said it will be a while before officials figure out how to apply the regulations to delivery providers.
