What can’t you buy from vending machines these days? Whenever traveling,we can’t help noticing the strange accessories one could find in an airport vending machine, ranging from iPads to Beats wireless headphones and more. Who is walking around an airport and decides this is when they’ll drop all that extra cash?
This is relevant because a technology company has developed a new type of vending machine that would be highly interesting to cannabis users worldwide. According USA TODAY, American Green is a Phoenix-based medical cannabis technology company and they’ve released a prototype for a vending machine that will sell marijuana.
The machine will use “biometric verification technology” via a finger scanner that will sell controlled substances to those of legal ages. Other items that could be included in this machine include alcohol, casino chips, pharmaceuticals, and guns.
These vending machines would be ideal for areas like casinos or nursing homes, where it is advantageous to be cash-less and patrons, like the elderly, possibly shouldn’t leave their premises to acquire these substances. Though 29 states have legalized medical cannabis, some states still require users to buy at dispensaries instead of possible off-site locations. This could reduce that possible complication.
“This could make individuals who need it more comfortable. They won’t run into their pastor or kindergarten teacher outside a dispensary,” said NORML Executive Director Erik Altierri to the USA TODAY.
Though some worry about the abuse of such systems, the possible cannabis vending machines already have built-in precautions. For example, you can’t cut off someone finger to use the machine illegally, as the device detects vein architecture for blood flow. There will be other worries and problems to solve before these machines see a release, buying weed from a vending machine remains a tantalizing prospect of the future.
