A Colorado dispensary just installed a vending machine that will allow cannabis lovers to stock up on legal weed without having to speak to a budtender.
Last week, the Terrapin Care Station dispensary in Aurora unveiled its new ACE (Automated Cannabis Kiosk) machine, developed in collaboration with BMC Universal Technologies, a Canadian vending machine company. This new tech allows users to view products through a large glass window and make their selections via a touch screen. The ACE machine can hold up to 1,152 products in a temperature-controlled enclosure to ensure that they stay fresh.
Customers who want to check out the machine in person must first present their valid ID to the dispensary’s front door security staff. Once they choose their products, they will need to pay in cash, since federal law still blocks payment processors from dealing with legal weed companies. The machine will then automatically grab, bag, and seal each product and then stamp it with a state-required verification sticker.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently took to Instagram to hype his state’s newest weed tech. “This dispensary in Aurora is the first Cannabis vending machine and the first fully automated cannabis kiosk on the market,” he wrote.
But although Polis is touting the automated kiosk as Colorado’s first weed vending machine, it actually isn’t. That title goes to ZaZZZ, which launched in 2014, only dispensed edibles, and was installed at a medical dispensary in Eagle Veil.
The first Colorado vending machine to dispense inhalable cannabis products was Anna, which debuted at Strawberry Fields and Star Buds dispensaries back in 2020. Anna provided some of the same functionality as ACE, but dispensary owners soon found that issues with state regulatory compliance made the machines more trouble than they were worth.
“Everything has to be accounted for and everything has to be stickered after it’s been purchased to prove there was a legal transaction made, and so someone had to be standing at the vending machine at all times,” explained Ben Tafoya, supervisor of Star Buds, to SiliconValley.com. “It was not as successful as we wanted it to be, so it didn’t stick around long. I think we only did a handful of transactions out of it.”
The ACE machine is able to get around these issues because it is fully integrated with Metrc, the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system. And because it seals and labels the products itself, the machine doesn’t require constant human oversight.
At present, ACE is only available at Terrapin Care Station in Aurora, but the company hopes to bring the machine to five more of its dispensaries soon. And eventually, the company hopes that regulators may allow these machines to be installed outside of the confines of traditional dispensary locations.
“It’s not crazy to think in a few years from now – with changes in regulation – you might see these at Union Station, or like ATM expresses where you swipe cards to get in to… use the ATM,” said Terrapin Care Station spokesperson Peter Marcus to SiliconValley.com.
Cannabis vending machines have also been introduced in a handful of other states, and the Czech Republic has over 50 CBD vending machines peppered across the country. In Detroit, one man even set up an illegal drug vending machine in front of his house. Local cops say that the enterprising entrepreneur sold over $6 million out of this machine before he got arrested.
Cover image via https://acekiosks.com/
Chris Moore via (https://merryjane.com/news/colorado-stoners-can-now-buy-always-fresh-weed-from-a-high-tech-vending-machine)
Keep out of reach of children. For use only by adults 21 years of age and older.
