Injunction Against Cannabis Delivery App
An appeals court in Los Angeles upheld the decision to block NestDrop, a cannabis app in LA that allowed for home delivery for patients.
According to ABC News, the app violates a 2013 law regarding cannabis restrictions in the city, and in 2014, the LA City Attorney cited it as a violation of that law and sought to shut the app down.
The law, officially known as Proposition D, prohibits any delivery of cannabis by vehicle. Since the purpose of this app was to have cannabis from the dispensary of one’s choice delivered to his or her door, it is pretty clearly in violation of that ruling.
“Prop. D explicitly prohibits delivery service,” Aaron Lachant, an attorney who represented the city, told the LA Times. He went on to explain that even though it is not illegal to use the app in the city, it is illegal for the company to be making their deliveries within city limits.
“Nestdrop was basically facilitating violations of Prop. D,” he added.
However, Michael Grahn, the attorney tasked with representing NestDrop, said that Proposition D should have been pre-empted by the state vehicle code, which would have allowed delivery.
This ruling is especially upsetting because of the specific purpose that NestDrop serves. Since only medical cannabis is legal in California, patients are the ones using this home delivery system. Being able to have cannabis brought straight to the front door is extremely beneficial for those who aren’t able to get themselves around, or for those who work busy schedules and aren’t able to make it to dispensaries during the times that they are open.
This is sure to be a blow to patients who rely on NestDrop to get their medicine, but hopefully a new system can be established as cannabis regulations continue to loosen.
