News

Marijuana vending gets high on security tech

March 20, 2013

Marijuana vending machines may seem like a contradiction to the war on drugs, but thanks to beefed up security requirements and biometrics, the machines are gaining a footprint in medical marijuana dispensaries.

A report on cbslocal.com from San Francisco featured the Autospense machine, a vending-style kiosk that can hold almost 800 marijuana-related items. To buy marijuana from the vending machine, a valid medical marijuana card, registration into the machine's system and a thumbprint are all needed, said Rick Barrera of Dispenselabs, the company behind the machine.

"So your kid's not going to able to access (medical marijuana) because he's not going to have the swipe card," Barrera said. "He's not going to have a thumbprint on file. He's not going to have medical marijuana credentials. And most importantly we never leave the machine alone; the machine is always attended."

The San Diego City Council is scheduled to vote next week on whether to allow the machines in dispensaries.

Read more about vending kiosks.