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There are now five states that have legalized delivery of retail marijuana: California, Oregon, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Colorado. Colorado finalized its rules on delivery just last month (November 2019). In Colorado, only medical marijuana dispensaries will be able to apply for delivery permits in 2020 - this means no third party delivery companies in 2020. Beginning in 2021, retail marijuana stores and licensed medical and retail marijuana transporters will be able to apply for delivery permits from the State Marijuana Enforcement Division.
As for state regulations, the standard policies for delivery are thorough tracking systems, delivery to residences only, required education on checking IDs and other delivery protocols, limits on the amount of marijuana in a vehicle at any time, and locked storage for product in vehicles. When looking at the delivery states side by side, each have some advantages that others don’t.
Nevada is currently the only state that allows for third party delivery. In all other states all deliveries must be made by an official employee of the store. Nevada only requires a contracting agreement and documentation of personnel. All states allow for online ordering through third-party websites, including Colorado, but the website may not receive a commission.
California is the only state that has specific regulations regarding unordered marijuana and products to be store in a delivery vehicle. They allow up to $3000 of the $5000 value limit to be reserved for potential deliveries. The CA rules require GPS systems in each vehicle, so they may add stops to their routes on demand like popular ride-hailing services, which appears to be a great idea to increase customer satisfaction, decrease cost, and increase eco-friendliness. Under current law an regulations in Colorado, marijuana product will have to be prepackaged for both retail and medical customers.
Oregon is the only state that allows for non-marijuana items to be delivered with marijuana delivery. Their only condition on this rule is that items may not be “bundled” with marijuana items which would result in a discount on the marijuana. So, you won’t be able to get a free joint with your taco purchase. There are still clear advantages to being able to deliver food along with marijuana. It is unclear whether Colorado will adopt this policy based on the language in the current laws and rules, but a girl can hope!
There are many more states that allow for delivery of medical marijuana: Arizona, Florida, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. Most of these states have standard requirements of in-state medical patient registration and delivery by only state-licensed dispensaries, much like regular prescription delivery. Rhode Island is the only state that allows for purchase and delivery of medical marijuana by out-of-state card holders. Minnesota, one of the strictest delivery states, only allows for delivery of oils, pills, or topicals but not flower or edibles.
Notably, Colorado law allows for local jurisdictions to opt in to whether they will allow delivery in their borders, and whether they will allow transporters that originate from other localities within Colorado to deliver within their local borders. This is yet another opportunity for you to get involved with your local politics - meet with your county commissioners or city council members and discuss with them how important it is for medical marijuana patients (and, in 2021, retail customers) to be able to have marijuana delivered in a responsible, regulated way that will benefit the community, patients, businesses, and the government through taxes generated.
And if you are interested in getting into the marijuana delivery world:If you are a medical marijuana dispensary - contact me SOON to get your ducks in a row to be one of the first to offer this to patients in your area.
If you sights set on starting a third-party delivery company in Colorado, contact me between now and 2021 to get your ducks in a row.
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