Marijuana Vending Machine Debuts in Southern California

By Dennis Romero Mon., Apr. 23 2012 at 8:08 AM

Dispense Labs

Marijuana advocates have been whining a lot lately about federal crackdowns on California pot businesses.

A Southern California company called Dispense Labs might have just come up with a solution:

A cannabis vending machine:

Genius.

One of the key elements of said machine, of course, is not having any humans around to arrest when the feds tow it away, a point acknowledged by Dispense Labs, which states that it ...

... mitigates concerns and problems that have risen from community groups, political figures and law enforcement agencies.

Yeah, baby. Local city council giving you a hard time? Move it one town over.

The company recently debuted the machine, which it only rents to "qualified" dispensaries for up to $2,000 a month.

What would prevent, say, a kid or a non-"patient" from getting some weed from the best snack machine ever?

Company founder Joe DeRobbio told the Orange County Register "there's no way to subvert" this heavily fortified and security-camera-laden system, which asks that doctor-approved patients obtain cards and pin numbers for access.

They can then use cash, plastic or debit cards.

The Dispensary Store in Santa Ana already has one.

And here's the reason: Unlike your local retailer, or the flaky guy you call in desperation, the "AutoSpense" is open and ready for you 24 hours a day.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

Aliso Viejo, cannabis, marijuana, medical marijauana, vending machine

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Mr. Mojo Risin

Bandage on the problem. People are going to be robbed when using this device. Kill the drug war already - this is lame. And, Dennis, I take personal offense to you declaring "marijuana advocates have been whining a lot lately..." Seriously? That's your insight, your objective observation, your best journalistic food forward? Yikes. Enough of this bullshit. So many critics, no creators.

Thezooom

Marijuana ATMs.. Yes!!

thezooom.com

Takis_olan

you are going to have many destroyed machines in the future my dear friends:))))

Jasonvorce

No kidding! I can see one being set on fire while a crowd of people circle around it and breathe the fumes.

Brandt Hardin

I feel this is a step in the right direction toward makingPot work to help our damaged economies. Marijuana is the safest drug with actual benefits for the user asopposed to alcohol which is dangerous, causes addiction, birth defects, andaffects literally every organ in the body. Groups are organizing all over the country to speak their minds onreforming pot laws. I drew up a verycool poster for the cause which you can check out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot... Drop in and let me know what you think!

Jstein787

yahoo!

Duncan20903

I wonder how Mr. Romero feels about working for a company so dirty that even Trans High Corporation won't do business with.

"Trans High Corporation, the parent company of HIGH TIMES magazine, will, effective immediately, discontinue any advertising or promotional relationship with Village Voice Media due to their continued financial stake in Backpage dot com, based on reporting of Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and others who credibly accuse the website's "adult services" classified ads of being allegedly complicit in the advertising of child sex traffickers.

Mr. Romero acts as if he's somehow a superior human being because he's anti pot, while drumming up business for child selling sex traffickers, at least according to the New York Times. Remember, if anyone wants to engage a prostitute, LA Weekly is the go to publication of choice for LA whore mongers. Thanks Dennis! Our child prostitutes need the work.

Dammitdulce

Get a life.

Duncan20903

I wonder how Dennis feels about getting his pycheck from an organization so dirty that even Trans High Corporation, owner of High Times Magazine won't do business with.

"Trans High Corporation, the parent company of HIGH TIMES magazine, will, effective immediately, discontinue any advertising or promotional relationship with Village Voice Media due to their continued financial stake in Backpage.com, based on reporting by Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times and others who credibly accuse the website's "adult services" classified ads of being allegedly complicit in the advertising of child sex traffickers."

Mr. Romero is so concerned about the kiddies that he doesn't want them smoking pot, but has no problem with taking money from those who promote kiddie prostitutes. Why is that Dennis?

John

Mexico "drug war" is stupid, Americans want to comit suicide.. why Mexico should have the casualties...???????????????????

Xychk

Its what we used to say, "Their hand called for it"Mexico has the casualties because they are murder monsters, and super greedy for our dollars

Duncan20903

It's their choice to continue the idiocy of criminalization. There would be none of these problems if they adopted the same policies as Canada and Seagram's did during the 1920s and 1930s.

But what in the world does Mexico's idiotic public policies have to do with the medicinal cannabis retail distribution chain, or peop[le who want to commit suicide? You're clueless if you think either point salient to the discussion at hand.