Image via ID 100080214 © Microstock77 | Dreamstime.com
Forgot to stop by the dispensary? Now, you’ll be able to buy weed directly from apps on Apple’s App Store, though with some restrictions.
Apple had previously banned apps that sold marijuana, but its new App Store policy, which was updated in June, makes an exemption. With the update, licensed pharmacies and “licensed or otherwise legal cannabis dispensaries” are allowed to sell through iOS apps.
Just last month, Apple approved the first cannabis delivery app on the App Store. The app, named Eaze, has over two million registered customers in California, and delivers joints, vapes, edibles, concentrates, and other marijuana products statewide. Eaze does not deliver the goods itself, but acts as a facilitator between retailers and buyers, with the shop owners recruiting their own delivery staff.
Following Eaze’s introduction to the App Store, other delivery services such as Beta, Caliva, and Pineapple Express have followed suit. Weedmaps, an app that allowed users to browse local dispensary menus, has also updated its app to allow customers to purchase weed products directly through the platform.
“It’s encouraging to see policies and attitudes toward cannabis shift in a way that promises remarkable growth, and we look forward to introducing an even simpler way to order cannabis from retailers through our platform,” said WM Technology Chief Technology Officer Justin Dean.
However, there are still restrictions. The updated guidelines state that apps in “highly regulated fields” such as banking, healthcare, or cannabis, must ensure their services are provided through a “legal entity that provides the services, and not by an individual developer.”
Plus, the apps must only provide such services within states where cannabis is legal. For example, in states that have yet to legalize marijuana, residents will not be able to download apps providing weed delivery services.
If you’re in a state where weed is legal, now you know you can order your fix directly from your iPhone.
[via Mashable, cover image via ID 100080214 © Microstock77 | Dreamstime.com]