Male hand hold paper packet with marijuana symbol closeup background. Online shopping sativa concept
Imagine being able to order medical cannabis products online and then have them delivered directly to your door. It is a little slice of heaven on earth, right? Maybe not. While home delivery is available in many states, it is not without its hitches.
The way things currently stand in the cannabis industry makes home delivery a haphazard proposition. When you can get home delivery, it is not nearly as streamlined as getting a pizza delivered. There are certain restrictions that govern how medical cannabis can be delivered, restrictions that directly affect the process from start to finish.
If you are a medical cannabis patient looking to have medicine delivered to your home, here are five things you should know:
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1. It is Not Available Everywhere
Utah is one of the many states that allows home delivery. A patient might order from Beehive Farmacy in Brigham City and then receive a delivery at home that very same day. But not every state does what Utah does. There are some states with legal medical cannabis that did not allow home delivery.
There are other states where home delivery is legal but limited in terms of coverage. And of course, there are also those states that don’t allow medical cannabis at all. Home delivery is a moot point in those states.
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2. It Can Take Time
The second thing to know is that home delivery can take time. Even if it is available where you live, don’t plan on same day delivery unless the pharmacy or dispensary says otherwise. Plan on waiting at least a day or two. In some cases, you may have to wait longer.
Longer wait times are the result of limited home delivery penetration. Until home delivery becomes the norm in the medical cannabis industry, patients are just going to have to exercise patience.
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3. Cash Is Still King
Medical cannabis is still largely a cash-only business. It will remain so until Washington does something about federal banking regulations. Knowing that, you are probably going to have to pay cash for your medicine when delivery arrives. Don’t expect your driver to take a credit or debit card.
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4. You Will Have to Accept Delivery
Though there may be some exceptions to the rule, the majority states that allow medical cannabis home delivery require that the patient themself be there to receive the delivery. A delivery service cannot leave your package with a family member while you’re at work. The package definitely can’t be left with minors.
Furthermore, medical cannabis packages cannot be left on front porches or inside package lockboxes. In most states, the patient needs to physically receive delivery when it arrives. If the patient isn’t home, the driver cannot leave the package.
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5. Delivery Can Only Be to Your Home
Likewise, states that allow cannabis delivery generally mandate that packages be delivered to homes. Delivery services cannot deliver medical cannabis to a patient’s workplace. Deliveries cannot be made to P.O. boxes, neighbor’s houses, or anywhere other than the patient’s listed address.
As you can see, these last two requirements can make home delivery even less convenient than driving to the pharmacy. It is not like ordering something on Amazon, where you have lots of options for delivery. Medical cannabis delivery is very limited by design.
Will cannabis home delivery ever become as efficient and streamlined as food delivery? It is possible, but don’t hold your breath. By its very nature, cannabis invites restrictions. Those restrictions will probably limit home delivery for the foreseeable future. Even federal decriminalization probably won’t change that, at least for the medical market.
