In 1996 California voters passed proposition 215 with over 56% approval rates; it was the first statewide voter initiative in the US supporting the approval of medical marijuana for seriously ill patients. Despite its contradiction to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which continues to regard marijuana as an illegal substance, Los Angeles has pioneered a new way for soliciting this drug.
Los Angeles inventor and owner Vincent Mehdizadeh has created a line of 24-hour medical marijuana vending machines. Mr. Mehdizadeh contends that these machines which he has patented as PVM (prescription vending machines) provides, “convenient access, lower prices, safety, and anonymity." These PVMs are computerized and require finger print identification scanning as well as prepaid magnetic striped cards; once the the fingerprints and prepaid card are verified a green envelope is dropped with the marijuana inside.
Store owners of these PVMs have said that they provide greater accessibility and convenience of these prescription drugs to patients who are serioulsy ill, as well as reduces the risk for raid or theft for workers in the dispensaries. While the DEA has argued that there is a possibility of “unplugging” this new invention as it violates federal laws, this new innovation continues to demonstrate the struggle for power between state and federal jurisdiction, with once again California at the forefront.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-potmachine30jan30,0,5042929.story
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