Marijuana could soon be ordered to your door like delivery food in Portland, Ore., after lawmakers eased regulations prohibiting businesses from conducting the practice.
Portland city commissioners relaxed the rules governing how marijuana dispensaries can distribute their products. It opens the door legally for marijuana businesses to start home delivery services, much in the way people order a pizza. Restrictions and prohibitions remain however, making the legality of home delivery a little complex.
Any licensed delivery person working for a cannabis business must ensure their headquarters is at least 1,000 feet away from any schools, reports CBS 6.
It also prohibits marijuana deliveries after 9 p.m. Despite what may seem like great news for marijuana businesses, reaction from industry experts is mixed.
“It’s a cool direction to go, but I think that it requires a lot of legislation,” Casey Arbogast, owner of a Marijuana shop, told CBS 6. “I’m thinking that this online ordering process is going to start to take over a little bit of the marijuana.”
Others in the industry are thrilled at the prospect of home delivery — a proposal being discussed across the country. Voters in California approved Proposition 64 on Election Day, legalizing marijuana for recreational use. Lawmakers in Sacramento are reportedly considering a similar law allowing for home delivery.
Dispensaries will still have a long road ahead before they begin any marijuana delivery services. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will be in charge of establishing the regulatory structure and issuing licenses for delivery.
“Since the state’s regulations keep changing and the industry keeps growing and flourishing, we’ll be coming back with multiple other changes, I’m sure, and I look forward to that as well,” Portland City Council Commissioner Amanda Fritz told CBS 6.
Oregon will shake up its statewide marijuana laws on Jan. 1 when it implements a new rule banning dispensaries from selling both medical and recreational marijuana. Business owners will have to choose between the two and which market they wish to cater to.
A large swath of dispensaries are choosing to sell to their recreational marijuana customers while eliminating their medical sales. Dispensary owners say recreational marijuana makes up a much larger portion of their business sales and customer base than medical marijuana, making the choice easy for many vendors in the wake of the new law.
One vendor said roughly 85 percent of his customers are recreational users and he would go out of business if he chose to sell only to medical patients.
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