It was only a matter of time. As more and more states jumped on the legal cannabis train, there was bound to be an entrepreneur willing to apply the same model that gets groceries and restaurant food delivered to your door to the cannabis industry. Well, it has finally happened.
A company known as Pelican Delivers claims to have the only patented on-demand cannabis delivery service in the nation. Order through them and they will:
- take your order and payment online
- buy your cannabis from a local dispensary or pharmacy
- deliver to your home in a timely manner.
To avail yourself of this service, you can either order directly from their website or download and install their mobile app. By all appearances, the service seems to be similar to services like Instacart and Shipt.
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Not Available in All States
Pelican Delivers is not available in every state. In fact, it is not even close. But the company is confident that their service will spread across the country in due time. They believe so much in their business model that they have plans to bring on some 30,000 drivers within the next year or so.
The big question right now is how the company intends to address the differences between recreational and medical cannabis. More importantly, will they even bother with the medical market at all? They should. It is big enough to be important.
In Utah, pharmacies like Salt Lake City’s Beehive Farmacy can legally offer home delivery. But practicability is another issue altogether. It is not surprising that Pelican Delivers is not yet active in Utah. The environment there is still too restrictive to make it profitable. That may change in time.
On the other hand, the company is active in a number of states with robust recreational programs. They deliver in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and a number of other states. They are doing so well in some of them that they have just launched a monthly subscription service.
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Get Your Weed on Demand
The interesting thing about this company’s business model is its commitment to delivering on demand. Let’s go back to Utah for purposes of comparison. If you can find a Utah pharmacy willing to deliver to your door, you may or may not get same-day service. You are more likely to get it in one of the state’s major urban areas. But if you live in a rural portion of the state, you may have to wait a couple of days to get delivery.
Pelican Delivers not only promises same-day service, but on-demand service. Again, it is a lot like ordering groceries or restaurant food. Place your order and you will have it within an hour or two. That could be good or bad, depending on how you view cannabis consumption.
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Ideal for Recreational Market
On-demand delivery is obviously suitable for both markets but is ideal for the recreational market. Why? Because it allows recreational users to engage in consumption without having to plan ahead. Medical users do not have that luxury.
If you are a medical cannabis user, you need to plan ahead of time so that you always have an ample supply of medicine on hand. You are likely to place your orders or visit your local pharmacy well in advance of needing more. But if you’re a recreational user, you can place an order whenever the fancy strikes you. With on-demand delivery, you are just a few phone taps away from getting your weed.
It had to happen. Now that on-demand cannabis delivery is a real thing, expect a number of app-based competitors to pop up. They will.
