Colorado dispensaries say coronavirus pandemic is making case for marijuana delivery

As the coronavirus pandemic disrupts daily life and commerce in Colorado, many in the state’s marijuana industry believe it makes the case for allowing dispensaries to begin delivering to customers’ homes now. Legislators legalized cannabis delivery with the passage of House Bill 1234 in 2019. The law permits medical marijuana deliveries to start in 2020 followed by recreational cannabis deliveries in 2021, but left it to municipalities to individually decide if they will allow the services. So far just one dispensary in Colorado, The Dandelion in Boulder, has obtained a license to deliver products to patients. Shannon Gray, communications specialist for the Marijuana Enforcement Division, declined to comment on whether the timeline for recreational delivery is being reconsidered in light of the pandemic. Advocates believe delivery should be adopted more quickly and rolled out more widely, especially during a crisis. Colorado considers marijuana dispensaries “critical” retail businesses, meaning they’re allowed to stay open, with some restrictions, under the state’s stay-at-home order. “Whether it be a pandemic, whether it be a natural disaster, there’s always people who can’t get to the store,” said Ben Prater, manager of Cannabis Station by Rocky Mountain High dispensary in Denver. “Now that (Gov.) Jared Polis is in office, he should definitely make moves to make delivery a thing sooner than later.” Peter Marcus, communications director for Terrapin Care Station, agrees. While teams at the company’s six dispensaries throughout the Front Range are confident in social distancing practices and curbside pickup to mitigate the spread of diseases,…

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Source : Denver Post
Link to original : Colorado dispensaries say coronavirus pandemic is making case for marijuana delivery
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