Legal cannabis delivery services: Here’s what you need to know

In 2020, millions of Americans now have access to the world’s cleanest, strongest, most fragrant cannabis ever grown—all from a click of a cursor or mobile phone tap.

Still, new consumers consistently report being mystified by this new life option. They’re used to either calling their guy, or going into a licensed store for the dispensary experience.

Longtime delivery service operator Zachary Pitts of Goddess Delivers said the most common question he gets is, “‘Is this really real? Can we actually get it legally delivered to our home and it’s fine and it all works and it’s great weed?’”

“And we’re like, ‘100%.’”

Here’s how to streamline your life, and save time and money with legal cannabis delivery services.

Marijuana delivery near me—Here’s how

You can use Leafly Finder to view verified, licensed cannabis stores in North America and beyond.

Popular search engines or other cannabis finder sites like Yelp often do not perform due diligence on whether or not a store is actually licensed, said Pitts, who is a member of the California Delivery Alliance.

That’s important because unlicensed stores carry untested products, which often contain labeling errors, and impurities. For example, about four in five illegal vape pens would fail purity tests in California.

How to get cannabis delivered to you

Delivery cannabis works a lot like delivery pizza, or an Amazon order. Generally, you place an online order or a phone order to a licensed store. Then, you get confirmation email or text, as well as a delivery time. When the delivery arrives, you show ID, sign, pay, and take your goods. Here’s the basic steps:

1. Go to Leafly.com/Finder.
2. Filter by delivery. In the top right corner, check the ‘delivery’ box.
3. Shop local menus. Click on store pages and view products.
4. Phone in an order. Use the phone number on the store page to call in an order like it’s pizza.
5. Alternatively, shop online. Put products in an online basket using participating Leafly advertisers. Click ‘add to bag’ under product listings at participating stores.
6. Check out. Click on your shopping cart at the top right hand corner of your screen to order. First time shoppers, make an account for easy re-orders.
7. Get confirmation. Receive texts or emails confirming order reception, processing and delivery time.
8. Receive your goods. Have exact change in cash and a valid form of ID to receive your goods from the delivery person.

Where are cannabis deliveries legal?

Several medical and adult-use cannabis states allow cannabis deliveries. Canadian legalization also uses delivery fulfillment.

Six states have adult-use cannabis delivery:

• California has several hundred licensed delivery services serving the entire state
• Oregon has limited delivery options based on local law
• Maine has legalized delivery services
• Nevada has adopted emergency rules permitting delivery during COVID-19
• Massachusetts has legalized delivery, but it’s not operational yet
• Michigan is allowing adult-use delivery under emergency rules

12 states have legal medical cannabis delivery:

• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• New Jersey
• North Dakota
• Oregon

Delivery and COVID-19

Furthermore, the advent of COVID-19 has sped adoption of delivery fulfillment, which can be cleaner than in-store transactions.

Efforts to contain the coronavirus may cause changes in availability, operating hours, or procedures at delivery services. We’re tracking openings and closures on the ‘Is my cannabis dispensary open? And does it deliver?‘’ page.

Illegal delivery

Delivery fulfillment has long been popular in illicit markets like New York, which recently decriminalized adult-use cannabis possession. Delivery is not yet legal in Washington, or Colorado, despite immense interest in Seattle and Denver. Cannabis delivery is also illegal in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC. And of course, all this activity runs counter to the federal Controlled Substances Act.

What are the best marijuana delivery services in my area?

It depends on what you’re looking for.

Speed? Low prices? Elite products? Customer service?

Delivery services vary by price, operating hours, delivery times, minimum orders, service areas, menu selection, menu emphasis, and degree of customer service.

For example, Ganja Goddess offers a slick e-commerce experience, lots of hand-holding, and service to most of the entire state of California. But it’s same-day or next-day. “It’s about weighing your options,” said Ganja Goddess’ Zachary Pitts, who is a member of the California Cannabis Couriers Association. “It really depends on what you’re looking for.”

Since most customers are new, start with services that have high customer service scores on Leafly reviews and other sites, he said. Look at who’s winning awards, like Zenganic in Oakland, CA.

We’re constantly reviewing deliveries at Leafly, like our recent look at the best Northern California delivery services.

Types of marijuana delivery services

Marijuana delivery is so diverse, there are sub-specializations within the delivery space.

On-demand cannabis delivery

That’s where you say, ‘Bring me the herb!’, and they rush it to you as fast as a Domino’s pizza. The popular option here is Eaze. Selection is usually smaller, not as good, and prices aren’t great. But on-demand most closely satisfies the desire to pop out to the club and buy a joint.

Scheduled cannabis delivery

The opposite of on-demand is scheduled delivery, which is more like an Amazon package. It can be there the same-day, or next-day, or a particular day of the week. Scheduled cannabis delivery services can have a bigger, better selection, special deals, or other perks that come from a longer wait time.

Subscription boxes of the month

When the delivery is scheduled, things can get really awesome. Think: wine of the month clubs, but for cannabis. A standout subscription box in California right now is Flowsent. It’s like having your own elite flower buyer picking out your buds, extract, or edibles boxes. For folks whose time is money.

Membership clubs

Membership clubs like Flower Co. combine Costco-style member savings, and delivery, to bring you buckets of primo herb at rock-bottom prices.

Frequently asked pot delivery questions

Do I need a medical marijuana license?

You don’t need a medical license in adult-use states like California. But having a doctors note, or a state ID card can result in savings on local and state sales taxes, and cannabis use taxes.

If you are in a medical-only state, then yes you’ll need a doctor’s note and sometimes a state ID card to get delivery medical cannabis.

Can I get 24-hour cannabis deliveries?

Sorry, there’s no 24-hour cannabis delivery yet. Public safety officials have issues with that idea.

Can you deliver to something that’s not a home?

No. No dropping herb off in parks or car parks or parking lots, etc. Generally, legal cannabis deliveries are tied to the customer’s home address. Delivering to a hotel, or other non-residential addresses depends on local and state rules.

Can someone else accept my marijuana delivery?

It depends. Generally speaking, state regulations often require the person who places the order to receive order. This is to avoid underage sales and other deceptive actions.

For example, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission delivery rules state, “the individual performing delivery must check the identification of the individual to whom delivery is being made in order to determine that it is the same individual who submitted the bona fide order, that the individual is 21 years of age or older, and must require the individual to sign a document indicating that the items were received.”

Michigan’s new delivery rules are similar: “A delivery employee shall verify that the person taking delivery is … the individual who placed the order.”

By contrast, in California, Goddess Delivers CEO Tara Wells said, “Basically, yes, once they’ve ordered online and we deliver it, anyone over 21 can accept the delivery.”

Feel free to ask your delivery service about such details as they’re always getting refined. “Things are constantly changing,” said Wells. “It’s a fluid thing.”

Is weed delivery safe?

Yes, it’s very safe.

Unlike illicit couriers, licensed delivery services in California, for example, follow dozens of pages of regulations from the Bureau of Cannabis Control. They must protect user data, as well as deter robbery by limiting vehicle inventories and locking products in a box welded to the vehicle frame. The drivers also have to be licensed by the DMV, and can’t use cannabis on the job.

Furthermore, state cannabis regulations, like Colorado’s for example, also contain security requirements including cannabis tracking, as well as rules like no deliveries after 9 pm.

With COVID-19, delivery services have implemented state health protocols to prevent the spread of disease. At Goddess Delivers, for example, there’s now contactless delivery with online pre-verification and payment, and a simple face verification, like a UPS drop-off. “There’s no cash involved,” said Wells.

How much weed can you get delivered at one time?

Commonly, you can get up to an ounce delivered in a legal state like California, but state laws or local rules can vary. Limits for medical cannabis patients can also be higher than adult-use consumer limits.

There are also different limits for different types of cannabis products. In California, for example, it’s one ounce of flower, 8 grams of extract, and 1000mg of THC in edibles. Floridian medical cannabis patients can get up to a 70-day supply delivered. In Michigan, you can get up to 2.5 ounces delivered or 15 grams of concentrate.

Your delivery service will let you know when you hit your order limit. Also, deliveries are often limited to once a day, per location.

Pro tips for using cannabis delivery services

• App it up. Make sure you have Leafly on your Android phone, as well as your iOS devices. New app upgrades roll out weekly.
• Have cash. Most delivery services only take cash, due to banking restrictions on the industry. However, some places do take debit cards, and a few are credit card-only. Be flexible.
• Use online menus. But call for special help. “Customer service people have tried pretty much everything that’s on the menu. They’re going to know how to help you,” Pitts said.
• Tip well. 20% should do it. Delivering bud is a low-paying job where you don’t actually get to smoke the awesome stuff on the menu. Share the love.

SOURCE:

leafly.ca   https://www.leafly.ca/news/lifestyle/marijuana-delivery-how-to-use-leafly