A Colorado dispensary has officially opened the first cannabis vending machine in the US after contactless retail becomes the hottest 2020 trend.
Strawberry Field’s dispensary in Pueblo has proudly introduced four cannabis vending machines to Colorado. Although cannabis vending machines have been popping up in Prague and Vancouver, this machine is the first of its kind to be introduced to the US market.
With the new vending machine, customers will be able to purchase cannabis flower, edibles and vape oils. The machine is able to take transactions and fill orders, dispensing products like a regular vending machine. Later this year, an identical vending machine is set to open in Aurora, just 160km away.
As dispensaries in the US are specially licensed, popular locations are over-saturated with customers. While the market for recreational cannabis is still growing across the US, wait times at dispensaries in Colorado and Massachusetts can be hours long.
Originally, the vending machines were designed to reduce this wait time, but they have proved handy in the COVID pandemic. Although customers are still required to show their ID to staff, vending machines reduce the amount of contact customers have with budtenders.
While newer customers are still recommended to speak with budtenders before making their selection, experienced cannabis users will now be directed to purchase products via vending machine or curbside pickup. Although there is no guarantee this will significantly reduce the number of COVID cases, it will allow cannabis dispensaries to continue operating with social distancing measures in place.
The vending machines were designed by the company Anna. Anna’s CEO, Matt Frost told The Know:
There are experienced cannabis customers who don’t necessarily need that one-on-one interaction with a budtender.
As cannabis vending machines become more mainstream, Frost hopes to see non-psychoactive cannabis sold in petrol stations and retail stores. While cannabis will still be sold separately to non-cannabis products, these vending machines will increase access to cannabis across the US, including in rural areas. Later this year, Frost is also expecting to unveil a large partnership for Anna.
Here in Australia, cannabis vending machines aren’t in our immediate future just yet. However, we could see CBD oil on our pharmacy shelves as early as February 2021. You can read that story here.
