Question: How could you stop drug dealers from using autonomous cars for drug delivery?



Of course we don’t want meth dealers sending out their products via autonomous Uber or some such thing. But is this really going to be a vast societal problem? The heroin spike that’s plaguing our society isn’t going to get worse just because we have self-driving cars.

So rather than dealing in dystopic hypotheticals, let’s turn our attention to legal drug dealing, specifically, the marijuana industry. States with legal weed, or vast expansive medical-marijuana cultures like California, already employ large fleets of drug-delivery drivers. For the companies in that totally legitimate business, autonomous cars could be manna.

“If you go to any one of these delivery services, they are running people into the ground trying to deliver stuff,” says Josh Freedman, CEO of Cabbygo, a Pittsburgh startup that provides apps and technology tools for existing taxi companies. “When you talk to these delivery guys, they put on a happy face, but these aren’t jobs that people want.”

Austin Heap, CEO of PotBox, a “premium cannabis delivery service” in San Francisco, which employs eight drivers, says it will be tempting to use autonomous cars when they’re ready, because driving is the most “human capital intensive” side of his company. But he’s not entirely sure it’s right for him.

“The common answer,” he says, “is, yes, it will be awesome. It will keep fewer cars on the road and will be more efficient. I’m not sure if that applies to a high-touch luxury product. We’re farm to table, so being able to connect people is super-important to us. From a tech standpoint, it’s crazy interesting, but from a people standpoint, there’s a learning curve. There are tons of people who don’t trust self-driving cars.”

Freedman says that autonomous cars would vastly reduce the risks associated with the burgeoning marijuana industry. “It’s not even just the vehicular danger. Anyone traveling around with $4,000 dollars worth of merchandise, you’re a target. And they know where you’re going.”

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Even if they’re not used to distribute product, autonomous vehicles could save the marijuana industry money and time. PotBox’s Heap says, “We spend so much time driving to and from farms, because they’re not in San Francisco. I can’t wait until there’s an autonomous driving API that I can plug into to handle our back end logistics. That’s going to be awesome.”

As marijuana becomes more and more legal, drug dealing and autonomous cars are a marriage that simply can’t be prevented, nor should they be. It’s only a matter of time before you can get a driverless car to bring you a pre-rolled joint. “It can come direct from the farm with the push of a button,” Freedman says. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”



We’re scouring the Internet to uncover interesting questions that people have posted looking for advice from the unwashed masses. We will contact experts to give you well-researched, professional advice. You can also submit questions to autos_qotd@yahoo.com.

