Have you bought marijuana at a vending machine before? Well, rest assured, you can now. It is legal to buy medical marijuana in Los Angeles from a vending machine, open 24-hours.
When I first heard this I realized that it could be viewed from two very differing perspectives: the first being that America’s stance on drugs is slowly becoming more tarnished and needs to be taken up a notch. An alternate perspective could be that America is gradually teetering on the brink of a society that is beginning to hold its inhabitants as responsible individuals. I would have to agree with the latter.
The advocates of these weed vending machines believe, and I think rightfully so, that these vending machines are beneficial to the community. Albeit, my opinions as to why, differ from those of the owners of vending machines; but we are in accordance with the fact that they ARE indeed beneficial.
Before I get into the reasons why these weed vending machines are a big step for Los Angeles, let me tell you about the basic workings of these modern day marvels. These machines are enclosed in a hefty, jet black, armored box. Its pretty much the coolest vending machine I’ve every seen, even for sheer aesthetic reasons, completely negating the wonderful service that it provides.
In my mind, it is wonderful that the city who popularized the fast food industry has now made it legal to get marijuana from vending machines 24 hours a day. Dubbed the "Herbal Nutrition Center" this vending machine will help various patients that suffer from loss of appetite, insomnia, chronic pain (no pun intended), and many other ailments and be seen as a sort of self-help, round-the-clock pharmacy.
How is it guarded you might ask. Well, there is a guard in a T-Shirt labeled "Security" and he stands in front of the machine, most likely with his arms crossed in some "tough guy" pose that makes sure you are indeed a patient. Then the computerized vending machine requires that you give your fingerprint as a means of identification and you have to retain a prepaid card with a magnetic stripe from your doctor in order to pay at the machine. Once the card and the fingerprint are verified then a bright green envelope with whatever marijuana you ordered drops down from the slot, similar to a candy bar. Unlike other vending machines though, this one surely won't malfunction and leave your marijuana dangling from a hook like a Snickers bar.
This proves wonderful for patients that might be apprehensive to receive their medication by other means. This legitimizes a service that the city has already deemed legal. The users are limited to only an ounce per week, and a patient can only buy 1/8 or ¼ of an ounce at a time. Due to the fact that there is not someone behind the counter that needs to be servicing the patients, the prices of the marijuana are cheaper. (Is there anything wrong with this machine?) For weed that would generally be between $65-80 the vending machines are practically giving it away at $40-45.
By having this medical marijuana dispensary available, Americans are on the right path in terms of the legitimization of drugs. Instead of drug users being hidden in the shadows of everyday life like criminals, we are shifting our views and putting everything out in the open, as it should be, because there is nothing wrong with trying to cure a little “chronic” pain (pun intended).
2 comments:
oh seanyy...that is too funny..this came up on one of the news websites or shows i was watching online (tryin to get my small fill of american news over here) and i knew somehow you of all people would know about it and have a strong opinion on it as well.. . haha i know you too well :)
How are these vending machines regulated? I mean, they must have some type of way to differentiate between a medical marijuana license holder and your everyday drug addict, right?
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