Cannabis Vending Machine Finally Serves Seattle

It’s been in the canna-buzz for over a year now, but Seattle finally gets their
first cannabis vending machine. The ZaZZZ cannabis vending machine finally
debuted in Seattle, at Seattle Caregivers, a medical cannabis dispensary.
Arizona-based American Green, the company behind these first vending machines
says it’s the first age-verifying, climate-controlled, self-service cannabis
dispensary machine. 

Stephen
Shearin, President and COO of American Green told The Washington Times that they got the idea from those old
cigarette machines in bars back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. “The 21st century is
here and maybe we can upgrade on that [idea] because dispensing machines are a
very effective way to service the public,” said Shearan.

According
to a news release, the vending machines will be stocked by Seattle Caregivers
and provide a “wide range of medicinal and recreational marijuana flowers,
pot-infused edibles and merchandise.” The temperature-controlled vending
machines are equipped with an advanced ID-scanner to verify a user’s identity,
age and additional data, but the machines themselves are never left unattended.
You have to show your ID to a real person to verify entrance into the
dispensary. “You never have access to the machine ever if there isn’t a
human around to check your medical ID initially on your way in,” said
Shearin. However, the machine’s technology uses
a set of cameras and facial recognition software to match the buyer’s face with
the ID he or she has presented as proof of medical eligibility. It also has a
weight-sensing mat in front of the machine to ensure that the person in the ID
and the buyer are one in the same. The ZaZZZ even provides in-depth information
about the cannabis it is selling.

“It’s historic. There’s just no
other way to state it,” Gary Patrick, a spokesman for the
maker of ZaZZZ, American Green, told NBC News.
“We saw the repeal of prohibition in the early 20th century and the mark that
made on our country and the companies that did it right. We’re in that stage.
This will only happen once in our country’s history, the repeal of this
prohibition.”

The machines allow users to simply
swipe their ID and then shop. “You can be in and out—literally—in a matter of
minutes,” Mr.
Patrick said.