The new cannabis vending machines are gaining serious attention
As cannabis vending machines begin to propogate across the globe, they are beginning to take on a whole new life. Adding robotics and technological creativity, the newer machines don’t just serve as automatic dispensaries for your favorite products; they are becoming completely autonomous budtenders.
One example is the Greenbox Robotics automated cannabis dispensary (ACD). Forbes magazine says of it, “[T]he sleek and streamlined greenbox will make a huge difference in dispensaries. Think of it as a BTM, an automated budtender machine.”
The Greenbox ACD includes a touch screen GUI (graphical user interface) that divides products by edibles, oils, flowers, etc. After the consumer selects the product to purchase, a robotic arm reaches, grabs it and dispenses it to the consumer. Payments can be made with Samsung Pay or Apple Pay and purchases take less than three minutes.
Greenbox was designed to dispense products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Since that only covers part of the industry, the Marinabox – so called for its blue hue – will dispense cannabidiol (CBD)-derived products. Select CBD liked the Marinabox so much that they have already cobranded some to be used at a party to be held by Vice magazine during the upcoming SXSW conference in Austin, TX.
Some of the Greenbox kiosks are already in place in dispensaries in California and this is just the beginning. As they continue to prove themselves, they will soon find their way to other marijuana-friendly states and could become as common as a soft drink or snack vending machine, with one almost on every corner.
