Marijuana vending machines in US

w1z4rd

w1z4rd

Karmic Sangoma
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Vending machines distributing the drug marijuana are to begin operating in the US state of California.

The machines can only be used by people who have been prescribed the drug for health reasons.

Patients will have to provide a prescription, and be fingerprinted and photographed before being allowed to use the facilities.

Eleven US states allow the medicinal use of marijuana, primarily for pain relief, but it remains controversial.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7212778.stm
 
I think the vending machine filled with snacks will be at more risk. :D
 
Isn't it still illegal under federal law to possess, produce or distribute marijuana? Unless you're part of the now defunct federal program, which only has seven people on it to this day...

(Thank you Bush... Thank you for saving The Children from the wiles of suffering cancer patients and their evil happy smoke.)
 
Ganja dispensing Machines in california?

http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_2261470,00.html

Los Angeles - The city that popularised the fast food drive-thru has a new innovation: 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines.

Patients suffering from chronic pain, loss of appetite and other ailments that marijuana is said to alleviate can get their pot with a dose of convenience at the Herbal Nutrition Centre, where a large machine will dole out the drug around the clock.

"Convenient access, lower prices, safety, anonymity," inventor and owner Vincent Mehdizadeh said, extolling the benefits of the machine.
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hmmmm i wonder how hard it would be to get access to those vending machines... Its like a candy store for a stoner with only the best candy :D

I think opinions are finally starting to change, moving away from the propoganda manipulated naivity that comes with most people who actually believe that smoking it is bad and should be illegal.

Friend of mine in Canada says you are legally allowed to grow one plant for your own use, regardless of medical condition.
The world can benefit from these changes and thoughts... imagine the good that can come from decriminalising Marijuana - it outways the bad a million to one.
 
Pot vending machine now available in USA

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22910820/

Pot vending machines take root in Los Angeles
Machines distribute the drug to people with cards authorizing use

LOS ANGELES - The city that popularized the fast food drive-thru has a new innovation: 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines.

Patients suffering from chronic pain, loss of appetite and other ailments that marijuana is said to alleviate can get their pot with a dose of convenience at the Herbal Nutrition Center, where a large machine will dole out the drug around the clock.

"Convenient access, lower prices, safety, anonymity," inventor and owner Vincent Mehdizadeh said, extolling the benefits of the machine.

But federal drug agents say the invention may need unplugging.

"Somebody owns (it), it's on a property and somebody fills it," said DEA Special Agent Jose Martinez. "Once we find out where it's at, we'll look into it and see if they're violating laws."

At least three dispensaries in the city, including two belonging to Mehdizadeh, have installed vending machines to distribute the drug to people who carry cards authorizing marijuana use.

Mehdizadeh said he spent seven months to develop and patent the black, armored box, which he calls the "PVM," or prescription vending machine.

Convenience and privacy
A sliding fence protects the tinted windows of his dispensary, barely distinguishing it from a busy thoroughfare of strip malls, automobile dealers and furniture shops. A box resembling a large refrigerator stands inside the nearly empty shop, near a few shelves stocked with vitamins and herbs.

A guard in a black T-shirt emblazoned with the word "Security" on the front stands at the door. A poster of Bob Marley decorates a back room.

The computerized machine requires fingerprint identification and a prepaid card with a magnetic stripe. Once the card and fingerprint are verified, a bright green envelope with the pot drops down a slot.

Mehdizadeh says any user approved for medical marijuana and registered in a computer database at his dispensaries can pre-purchase the drug and then use the machine to pick up.

The process provides convenience and privacy for users who may otherwise feel uncomfortable about buying marijuana, Mehdizadeh said.

At the Timothy Leary Medical Dispensary in the San Fernando Valley, the vending machine is accessible only during business hours. An employee there said the machine was introduced about five months ago, and provides speedy service.

"It helps a lot of patients who are in a lot of pain and don't want to wait around to get help," Robert Schwartz said. "It's been working out great."

Mehdizadeh said he sought the advice of doctors, and decided to limit the amount of marijuana per user to an ounce per week. Each purchase from the machine yields 1/8th or 2/8th of an ounce. By eliminating a vendor behind the counter, he said, the machine offers users lower drug prices. The 1/8th ounce packet would cost about $40 — $20 lower than the average price at other dispensaries.

'It's to medicate'
A spokesman for a marijuana advocacy group said the machine also benefits dispensary owners.

"It limits the number of workers in the store in the event of a raid, and it'll make it harder for theft," said Nathan Sands, of The Compassionate Coalition.

Marijuana use is illegal under federal law, which does not recognize the medical marijuana laws in California and 11 other states.

The Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal agencies have been actively shutting down major medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state over the last two years and charging their operators with felony distribution charges.

Mehdizadeh said the Herbal Nutrition Center was the target of a federal raid in December. He said no arrests were made and no charges have been filed against him.

Kris Hermes, a spokesman for advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said the machine might benefit those who already know how much and what strain of marijuana they're looking for. But he said others will want to see and smell the drug before they buy it.

A man who said he has been authorized to use medical marijuana as part of his anger management therapy said the vending machine's security measures would at least protect against illicit use of the drug.

"You have kids that want to get high and that's not what marijuana is for," Robert Miko said. "It's to medicate."
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Smoking pot worse than tobacco

They found high rates of bullous lung disease, a debilitating condition where air trapped in the lungs causes obstruction to breathing and eventual destruction of the organ.

It is often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke.

Studies have shown the disease will most likely strike tobacco smokers around the age of 65, but the review, published in the journal Respirology, shows dope smokers are being hit 20 years earlier, while in their early 40s.
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