Marijuana Entrepreneurs Use Internet to Expand Legal Access

Marijuana entrepreneurs are using the Internet to allow customers legal online access to the drug, according to The New York Times. One company, HelloMD, connects customers with doctors who provide a “medical recommendation” for medical marijuana. Customers can then find a service that delivers marijuana from a dispensary.

A California-based reporter for the newspaper logged onto HelloMD, and filled out personal details. He said he often gets heartburn, and paid a $50 consultation fee with his credit card. He was connected with a pediatrician who is licensed to practice medicine in California, who asked about his medical history, symptoms and familiarity with certain medicines. After three minutes, she told the reporter his heartburn made him a candidate for medical marijuana, which is legal in California.

He was emailed a medical recommendation letter from HelloMD, stating, “this patient has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate.” He used a website called Weedmaps to find a service that would deliver marijuana to his house. He uploaded a picture of his driver’s license and the recommendation letter to the dispensary, and was then able to order marijuana online.

“What we see is moms, dads, professionals, old people, everyone wanting access to cannabis,” said HelloMD founder Mark Hadfield. “The old type of experience — go to a crummy dispensary, wait in line — was not going to appeal to the market that we were after, which is everyday Americans, a market that, by the way, is much larger than the old market of — I don’t want to call them stoners, but let’s say, ‘recreationally minded young people.’”

Other online companies include Meadow, which also allows customers to obtain a prescription and order online. The company plans to introduce software that will allow businesses in the medical marijuana supply chain to manage their operations digitally.