News » Dispensaries Going Mobile

In light of the federal raids against dispensaries throughout California, some San Diego area cooperatives are taking a cue from restaurants and implementing “pop up” locations. They’re doing it with the power of the Internet.

Instead of setting up shop in a centralized location and waiting for the federal government to show up and shut them down, some dispensary owners are instead using classified ads websites, Twitter, and even Facebook to alert people where they’ll be doing business for the day or even just a few hours. By moving around, retaining their legal licenses with the state, and serving only patients with MMJ cards, the dispensaries are hoping to keep within the local laws while at the same time avoiding federal raids and prosecution.

The setup allows cooperatives to both comply with the law and help their patients while they avoid federal prosecution and abuse by local police and recreational users who often target fixed shops for stings and theft. A mobile dispensary can show it’s legal standing to questioning police officers who might suspect an illicit drug deal – if both participants in a sale are carded, it’s legal after all.

The trend is growing in San Diego and is likely to spread – or is spreading – to other areas, especially in California and Washington, places hit hard by the federal crackdown on dispensaries.

For medical marijuana jurisdictions without allowance for dispensaries or with legal precedents that make commercial sale a gray area for the feds to exploit (i.e. all current MMJ states except Colorado), mobile sales may be the best answer.

[source San Diego Reader]

Tags: California, medical marijuana, MMJ