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Self-service machines find waiting market in cannabis bellwether California

This cannabis vending machine tackles the biggest friction point faced by most cannabis dispensaries: people waiting in line to make a purchase.

Customers buy cannabis at the vending machine at the Vallejo Holistic Health Center. Photo courtesy of Greenstop.

May 26, 2021 by Elliot Maras — Editor, Kiosk Marketplace & Vending Times

(Editor's note: This is part four in a four-part series on cannabis kiosks).

In a sense, vending machines bring a sense of nostalgia to Greg Schoepp, an early California cannabis dispensary owner. He remembers selling Ziploc bags of cannabis in traditional snack vending machines in his first dispensary in San Francisco in 2010.

Much has changed in the last decade, when the repurposed snack vending machines were more of a novelty in the dispensaries than an actual selling tool.

By 2010, law enforcement crackdowns on California dispensaries were becoming rare, thanks to an Obama Administration directive to defer to state laws on selling and using medical cannabis.

In 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64 legalizing recreational cannabis in the state for persons 21 and older, opening a new market for dispensaries that previously catered to medical cannabis users.

Then, as noted in part one in this four-part series on cannabis kiosks, the coronavirus pandemic drove customer demand for cannabis, raising the already heavy workloads on dispendary budtenders.

Technology to the rescue

Greenstop co-founders Tim Island and James Edwards join in the opening festivities of their cannabis vending machine.

Hence, Schoepp was delighted when he came across Greenstop, a 6-foot by 31-inch vending machine with four customer facings that automates the purchase and dispensing of cannabis. Last month, he installed his first Greenstop machines in his two dispensaries, the Vallejo Holistic Health Center and the Eagle Eye dispensary in Napa.

"We're shattering the single-user mode," Tim Island, co-CEO and co-founder of Los Angeles based Greenstop, told this website. "It's like a smart vault that can dispense."

The customer first gives his or her driver's license to the budtender, along with their debit card if they plan to use it. Once the customer checks in to the dispensary, they go to the showroom. Rather than waiting for a budtender for assistance, they can go to the machine and scan their ID against a barcode scanner.

"This machine has to verify who you are and then keep track of what you purchase," Schoepp said.

A versatile machine

The customer can scroll through product information on the touchscreen before making a selection. They can view enlarged images and read a product description.

In addition to the four touchscreens, there are two digital screens that run advertising. The pickup chute is located below the touchscreen.

The machine's compartments can be adjusted to hold plastic bags and boxes of product, including edibles, pre-rolled joints and flowers.

Customers can place orders with the machine in advance using a mobile app.

Tackling customer friction

For Schoepp, the machine tackles the biggest friction point faced by most cannabis dispensaries: people waiting in line to make a purchase. Scheopp's stores are visited by as many as 600 people a day and have had lines 20 people deep on average.

Schoepp also likes the fact that the Greenstop machine is certified by the state approved compliance software, called Metrc, a "seed-to-sale" tracking compliance system designed for government agencies regulating cannabis.

Regulatory compliance is important to Schoepp since there are so many requirements, including city and state licenses.

To date, the Greenstop machines are getting a lot of use, with more than 40 people using each machine per day. These numbers will increase as people become aware of the machine. Schoepp is currently offering a $5 coupon to encourage people to use the machine.

Entrepreneurs foresaw the need

Island and his partners launched Greenstop in 2015 in California, which at the time did not have legal recreational cannabis. The partners spent three years developing their machine while they operated other businesses.

The partners initially envisioned operating the machines inside big box retailers and pharmacies.

"But the market that was ready (in 2018) was dispensaries," he said.

Greenstop provides the installation and licenses the machine to stores, including maintenance and training. Island did not wish to disclose the fees.

He plans to roll out units at California dispensaries every month, and expects to place at least 10 this year.

"It's a great marketplace," Island said. "There are like 10,000 dispensaries right now (nationwide). It's growing exponentially fast."

Schoepp, for his part, plans to open two more stores in the near future.

Photos courtesy of Greenstop.

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