Marijuana vending machine
A marijuana vending machine is a vending machine for selling or dispensing cannabis. They are currently in use in the United States and Canada and may be located in secure rooms in medical marijuana dispensaries. Some may be operated by employees after a fingerprint scan is obtained from the patient. In Canada, marijuana vending machines are planned to be used in centres that cultivate the drug.
At least three companies are developing the vending machines. Endexx Corp. (ticker symbol: EDXC) has recently acquired two smaller companies to merge their respective technologies into a marijuana vending machine. The first acquisition, called Cann-Can LLC, was announced by Endexx in April 2013. The second acquisition, known as Dispense Labs LLC, was finalized and announced by Endexx in October 2013. Endexx, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Dispense Labs, has secured exclusive worldwide rights for medical marijuana dispensing technology with Autocrib.Endexx works with M3Hub and has recently acquired THCFinder.com. The THC Finder website will enable marijuana patients to locate the nearest dispensary with an Autospense marijuana vending machine.
Medbox Inc. is the industry leader in medical marijuana dispensing machines. They sell two machines for $50,000, one for edible marijuana products like brownies, and the other for portions of marijuana itself. As of October 2013, Medbox has sold approximately 160 marijuana vending machines to US medical marijuana dispensaries.
American Green, a division of Tranzbyte Corporation (ticker symbol: ERBB), plans to distribute marijuana vending machines called Zazzz Machines. These machines will utilize radio-frequency identification tags (RFID) to track the products and biometrics to verify a customers age. Unlike the Medbox and Endexx machines which are kept behind the counter, the Zazzz machine can be used directly by customers. The first machine was unveiled on April 12th, 2014 and will be placed at the Herbal Elements store in Avon, Colorado.