Representing a significant shift in the way cannabis products are being normalized, weed vending machines—now capable of labeling and dispensing cannabis products in real time—are the new norm in Colorado.

Boulder, Colorado-based Terrapin has installed its first technology-forward vending machine ACE (Automated Cannabis Experience) at its Aurora Terrapin Care Station location. No need for a budtender or a human being, for that matter. Customers scan to verify their ID and confirm they are old enough, follow the instructions on the screen and pay. 

But best of all: you get to watch the weed get bagged and live-labeled through a 38 x 30-inch window on the vending machine—a surreal experience for people coming from more restrictive states. 

“Innovative solutions like ACE illustrate the increasingly mainstream nature of the cannabis space,” Terrapin CEO Chris Woods told 9News.

“ACE not only improves sales but also provides unique benefits to consumers, including faster checkouts, expanded education, and the ability to engage in multiple languages. As the cannabis industry evolves, companies must pivot to meet changing consumer preferences and demands. ACE offers a genuinely game-changing way for consumers to purchase cannabis.”

How much product can one machine hold? One ACE vending machine can hold up to 1,152 weed products (depending on the size of the packaging). It’s like its own little dispensary.

The Aurora location will serve as the guinea pig to determine how well the automated vending machine serves customers’ needs.

“We are happy to support innovation in business and appreciate Terrapin for choosing Aurora to implement this impressive equipment,” said Trevor Vaughn, manager of licensing for the city of Aurora. “Our highest priority is public safety and Terrapin acknowledges this with their implementation of this retail option by adding an automated layer of safeguards to human verification to ensure that only those legally allowed to consume cannabis are purchasing those products.”

It took time and effort to get the automated technology to where it is today, Robert Schwarzli, BMC Universal Technologies’ president, said.

Automated Weed Vending Machine Technology

Terrapin first unveiled the new automated machines ACE at MJBizCon 2022, where they teased the vending machine rollout in Aurora. 

ACE can be programmed in multiple languages, improving inclusion. It can also improve the sales approach as ACE augments budtenders and frees them to take more time. Advantages include the human-less “triple check” to ensure only verified adults ages 21 and over can purchase cannabis. It also speeds up the transaction, the company says.

Developed in partnership with BMC Universal Technologies, it’s the first fully automated cannabis vending kiosk on the market to fully package, live-label and dispense cannabis products, according to a press release.

“As an established leader in the vending industry, we have the manufacturing design, automation and engineering expertise necessary to design and develop the vending machine of the future,” Robert Schwarzli, BMC Universal Technologies’ president said last November. “ACE is the first vending solution on the market that requires zero human assistance, truly transforming how people shop for cannabis products. While ACE is a first for the cannabis sector, we’ve brought dozens of other one-of-a-kind projects across myriad other industries to life—and are excited about the future of cannabis retail.”

The concept of zero human assistance is controversial–yet it’s what we’re seeing already with Amazon, McDonald’s, Taco Bell’s “Defy” restaurant, and across the board in the retail space.

Terrapin also has plans to roll out additional ACE machines at its Terrapin Care Station locations throughout Colorado. It’s a glimpse of what you might be seeing more of in the future.

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The city of Aurora, Colorado hosted a grand opening on Tuesday for its brand new 77,000-square foot, nearly $42 million recreational facility that was funded entirely by tax revenue generated from legal marijuana sales. 

Known as the “Southeast Recreation Center and Fieldhouse,” the facility boasts a slew of amenities, according to local news station KDVR: “A 23,000-square-foot fieldhouse with temperature controlled indoor environment; A full-sized field with professional-grade turf; An 8,000-square-foot multiuse gymnasium [that] will be able to accommodate one main basketball court, two cross basketball courts, two volleyball courts or three pickleball courts; A 1/9-mile long track elevated above the fitness area and gymnasium; A 7,600-square-foot fitness area with state-of-the-art equipment, including: A functional fitness area; An outdoor fitness space; A fitness studio; A large community room; [and a] natatorium, which in turn is comprised of: A 125,000-gallon swimming pool with a maximum depth of seven feet; A spa pool with water jets; A leisure pool that includes a 25-yard, four-lane lap pool, a lazy river, and a 20-foot-tall waterslide.” 

The city broke ground on the facility in early 2021, and it is the second new recreational facility to open in Aurora in the last four years.

The other rec center, which opened in 2019, was also funded by taxes from marijuana sales, according to KDVR. The news outlet Westworld reported that the Aurora City Council in 2020 “approved increasing the city’s sales tax on recreational marijuana from 7.75 percent to 8.75 percent, with the additional revenues going to fund youth violence prevention projects.” 

“We are excited to open our newest recreation center and fieldhouse,” Brooke Bell, the director of the Aurora Parks, Recreation and Open Space, said in a press release from the city earlier this month. “After an extensive community engagement process, the feedback received guided the creation of this exceptional facility; we look forward to the community enjoying the space they helped envision for years to come.”

In the press release, the city said that the Southeast Recreation Center is located “near several neighborhoods and the Aurora Reservoir,” and that “the center is a regional destination boasting the first indoor fieldhouse within the city in addition to a variety of other amenities and breathtaking views of the Colorado mountains.”

The construction of the two recreational facilities in Aurora serve as “proof of concept” for advocates who helped Colorado become one of the first two states to legalize recreational cannabis a little more than a decade ago when voters there approved Amendment 64. 

Supporters of marijuana legalization have long contended that a regulated cannabis retail market could be an economic boon for state and local governments. 

“Colorado did what no one had done before,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said at an event in October commemorating the 10th anniversary of the state’s legalization measure, as quoted by the Denver Gazette. “With voter [approval] of Amendment 64, we made history and therefore it is fitting that we are celebrating today 10 years here at History Colorado.”

Polis, a Democrat, has worked to strengthen the marijuana law. Last summer, he signed an executive order “to ensure that no Coloradan is subject to penalization for the possession, cultivation, or use of marijuana as this substance is legal in Colorado as a result of Amendment 64,” his office announced at the time.

“The exclusion of people from the workforce because of marijuana-related activities that are lawful in Colorado, but still criminally penalized in other states, hinders our residents, economy and our State. No one who lawfully consumes, possesses, cultivates or processes marijuana pursuant to Colorado law should be subject to professional sanctions or denied a professional license in Colorado. This includes individuals who consume, possess, cultivate or process marijuana in another state in a manner that would be legal under Colorado law,” Polis said in a statement.

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Shop cannabis gifts from Aurora for everyone on your list this holiday season – no matter their personality or your price point.

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Aurora Cannabis officially shipped out its first shipment of “free” dried cannabis flower to be given to a select number of patients in France.

A subsidiary of Aurora Cannabis Inc., Aurora Germany GmbH, partnered with Ethypharm to deliver the first shipment of cannabis medicine to France to be used in the country’s medical cannabis pilot program. Both Aurora and Ethypharm were chosen by the National Agency for Safety Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) to deliver dried flower for use by French patients.

Both companies signed an agreement to work with the ANSM in October 2020. In the agreement, Aurora confirmed it would deliver medical cannabis from the company’s largest European facility, Aurora Nordic. Ethypharm is in charge of distribution of the dried flower throughout France. According to the program, companies will participate knowing that the product they send would be “free of charge.”

According to Aurora’s Chief Executive Officer, Miguel Martin, this is a great honor for the company. “The first prescriptions of dried medical cannabis as part of the French pilot program are a significant step toward providing access to patients and will support the destigmatization of medical cannabis in France,” Martin said in a press statement.

The statement continued, “This accomplishment is another example of Aurora’s leadership in global cannabis, with a proven track record of supporting the advancement of international medical cannabis markets alongside government bodies. By demonstrating a deep commitment to compliance and focus on product quality, we won three of the nine available tenders. If successful, this pilot program could lead to one of the largest regulated medical cannabis markets in Europe.”

Ethypharm’s Chief Commercial Operations Officer, Jean Monin, declared his honor in the company being chosen to assist French medical cannabis patients. “Combining our pharmaceutical skills is, in our view, the right approach to build trust and confidence in medical cannabis for the long term in France,” said Monin. “We want to be a driving force to support patients suffering from chronic pain when there is no other therapeutic option than medical cannabis. With our deep expertise in disorders of the central nervous system and an expertise in highly regulated medicines, we are well prepared to collaborate with the health authorities and physicians.”

There are three types of dried flower being shipped to France currently: Aurora 20/1 XPE (high-THC), Aurora 8/8 XPE (balanced amount of THC and CBD) and Aurora 1/12 XPE (high-CBD). The flower will be consumed using a vaporizer from STORZ & BICKEL.

When the French government announced this effort on October 7, 2020, it referred to the program as an “experiment.” The initial decree noted that the program would last for “a period of two years from the prescription to the first patient and no later than March 31, 2021,” and will serve up to 3,000 patients.

Nadine Attal, a pain specialist who works at the Ambroise-Paré hospital in Paris, France and is one of the committee members who will oversee the experiment. “There is a group of patients who respond very, very, very well to this product, particularly those who have chronic pain that is resistant to everything else,” she told Radio France Internationale in an interview.

Attal also mentioned that this effort isn’t a scientific trial and there won’t be a placebo given to some patients. Rather, this is a way for researchers to analyze the “real-life use” of cannabis as a medicine. “We will learn more about the kinds of patients who respond, and we’ll be able to identify side effects, like vertigo, drowsiness, fatigue,” she described.

Aurora Cannabis is one of six companies participating in France’s medical cannabis program. This includes Australian companies Althea and Little Green Pharma, Canadian company Tilray, Israel-based Panaxia and Emmac Life Sciences from the UK. The participating companies are all foreign because cannabis flower that contains THC over 0.2 percent is illegal in France.

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Denver, Colorado-based dispensary Strawberry Fields and the doobba delivery service announced pot deliveries will be open to the public today, August 23. The companies completed their first six legal pot deliveries on August 19 during a soft launch test round.

Strawberry Fields is Denver’s first dispensary that received a permit for delivery, while doobba was Denver’s first delivery service to receive a license, and several other companies are in the process of nearing operation. 

In order for a dispensary to offer delivery, it is required to either qualify under a social equity designation intended to benefit communities negatively impacted by the War on Drugs, or partner with a social equity delivery company—Doobba, in this case. Strawberry Fields chose the latter route, partnering with Doobba to meet the city’s requirements. 

Per city code, dispensaries cannot operate delivery themselves; instead, they must go through third party transporter businesses. The city has issued four transporter licenses, according to Denver city data.

Doobba’s owners, the husband-and-wife team Ari and Karina Cohen—plan on expanding into more dispensaries in the future. Ari qualified for social equity status because he has previously been arrested for cannabis “lifetimes ago.” The company was close to an agreement to deliver for L’Eagle, according to doobba co-founder Ari, and is in talks with other companies such as Seed & Smith.

“We are thrilled to be able to deliver cannabis to customers in Denver and Aurora,” doobba co-founder and CEO Karina Cohen told High Times. “It’s a first step in helping doobba in ending cannabis prohibition. Customers who live in Denver and Aurora can also sign up for unlimited delivery membership on doobba.com”

Both of the Cohens have a long history of working in the cannabis industry, and together, they are excited to take on these new challenges. 

How Cannabis Delivery Works

Ordering cannabis delivery works in a similar manner to ordering food or alcohol delivered to your door. Think DoorDash for weed. Customers go to the doobba or Strawberry Fields websites, or they can go through one of several online dispensary menu services, such as I Heart Jane, for delivery. They then choose a time frame for the delivery and receive updates via text message about their order’s progress. 

Doobba is currently giving customers a two-hour time frame for deliveries.

Denver allows people ages 21 and older to order cannabis for delivery between the hours of 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Deliveries can cross into other jurisdictions that also allow delivery, such as nearby in Aurora.

Last July, doobba handed in the first application for a license to deliver cannabis. Strawberry Fields will rely on doobba for the time being to carry out deliveries across Denver city proper during the early stages of the rollout.

Currently only five other dispensaries are permitted for delivery in Denver: Cookies, Denver Kush Club, Diego Pellicer, L’Eagle and Star Buds. But Strawberry Fields and dooba are the first to become operational, as none of the others launched delivery services yet. A small number of stores and transporter services are currently awaiting approval from the city.

It appears as though several other companies are positioning to get involved in cannabis delivery as well. “Most people still don’t know this is available,” Cohen told Westword. “Like anything that’s new, normally it would take a year for everyone in Denver to realize they can do this. We’re going to try our darnedest to get to that point within three months.” Delivery sales are poised to become a convenient way to order cannabis in the area.

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Canada, don’t miss limited-edition 4/20 Rockstar pre-rolls, fan-favourite flower, & way more fire from San Rafael ‘71.

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A classic strain, loved by novice and veteran consumers alike, Blue Dream is a high-THC hybrid with a fruity and piney aroma.

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We asked Canada’s favourite cannabis cooks share their favourite ingredient for infusions.

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Licensed producers are racing to debut cheaper “value brands,” often in bulk-priced options.

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