The First Cannabis Drive-thru on Oregon’s Coast

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]R[/dropcap]ecreational cannabis users looking to buy cannabis without even leaving their cars need look no further than a rural town on the Southern Oregon Coast called Gold Beach. The town is home to Green Life Oregon, which plans to open the first recreational cannabis drive-thru in the nation on a date no better than April, 20 2016. The shop is set up to open across from the town’s hospital, a location not chosen by accident. The owners want their customers to not only associate cannabis with medicine, but also have access to alternatives other than the designer pharmaceutical drugs mostly prescribed at a doctor’s office. It would be like driving through a Walgreens to those with medical needs.

This type of shop could make things a lot easier for many patients and recreational users alike. Many patients aren’t very mobile and can’t move in and out of the store as easily as others. There could also be someone who might not want to be seen due to an obvious condition or even just feeling the fear of the still existing stigmas regarding cannabis. The owners of Green Life Oregon believe that Oregonians voted for this and support it, so it should be made readily available. The company plans to expand and bring other cannabis related amenities to the Gold Beach Area, making it a “green” spot for tourists who dig that vibe.

The county’s Economic Director seems confident that the business will bring good things to the area. The owners have a good business plan and solid investors.

Gold Beach used to be a big timber town, but maybe now the biggest industry in the area could be cannabis. There has been a lot of recent economic hardship in the town, and a popular business like this could help the local economy. This new resource is expected to bring a lot of cash flow into the area, perhaps allowing the town to really own its “Gold” title. The business could also attract tourists from California, where recreational cannabis is not yet legal.

Gold Beach’s cannabis drive-thru isn’t even the first of its kind in the United States. Apparently the famous Green Mile in Detroit is just littered with dozens of dispensaries, and many allow customers to drive through to make a purchase. The mayor of Detroit is actually quite concerned about the abundance of dispensaries and the drive-thrus in particular, and is putting plans in action to keep things more regulated. Another dispensary in Olympia, Washington started allowing OMMP cardholders to buy cannabis at a drive-up window in 2012.

Gold Beach, however, will have the nation’s first recreational drive-thru; an experience where anyone old enough to vote can buy cannabis as easily as they can get a Big Mac. There was a lot of pushback when medical establishments began dispensing cannabis through a drive-thru window. Many even thought it called the legitimacy of the businesses into question. But since this is the first store selling cannabis at a drive-thru recreationally, who could say no to that? Oregon is once again a cannabis trailblazer, and residents of this state can look forward to our cannabis buying experience becoming more and more convenient.