Let’s be real here, it was only a matter of time before the world got a vending machine for pot. Medbox, the company that produces these $US50,000 units, is ramping up and attempting to place them in dispensaries around the US. Consumers can’t walk up to a Medbox and feed it their cash, but they can tell the clerk in a state-licensed dispensary what they want.
The machines are armoured, refrigerated and stock everything from vials of pot to edibles like brownies or candy for people with medical marijuana prescriptions. The CEO of Medbox, Bruce Bedrick, told Businessweek “We are planning to literally dominate the industry…We’re a retailer’s wet dream. We’re the leading player in an industry that’s ready to explode.”
Sounds like a colourful dude. But Bedrick has a lot of sensible ideas about dispensing pot in an organised and methodical way so it can eventually integrate as a normal commodity subject to standard regulation, market forces and sales tax just like anything else.
It may be a long road to legalisation, but Bedrick can handle the uncertainty. He told Businessweek, “I’m a Libra — always seeking balance.” [Businessweek via The Consumerist]