Once upon a time, the only way you could buy weed was from that shady guy who always hung around behind the local gas station.
Now, in President Joe Biden’s America, where encouraging drug use is seemingly the new norm, some people will soon be able to fill up their gas tank, grab a cold fountain soda, and cop a couple of freshly-rolled joints from inside their local Circle K gas station.
Yep, you read that correctly.
Green Thumb Industries, a Chicago-based player in the medical and recreational cannabis industry, has entered into an exclusive contract with Circle K gas stations that will allow the company to offer a wide range of cannabis products to customers qualified to purchase the drug with a medical card. That could change to recreational sales in the future if and when Florida joins a growing number of states that allow recreational use.
The program is set to begin with 10 gas station locations in Florida in 2023, with plans to expand, presuming it’s a lucrative venture.
From Crain’s Chicago Business:
The Green Thumb outposts will be known as “RISE Express” stores and have a separate entrance from the gas station. Because Florida is one of several states where cannabis can be legally sold only for medical use, purchases are restricted to Floridians who have medical marijuana cards. Currently, that’s around 700,000 people.
Gas stations appear to be a good fit for weed because they are already where lots of Americans shop for age-restricted drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Some locations have already ventured into cannabis, selling CBD products that don’t contain the psychoactive ingredient THC and Delta-8 items, which also give consumers a high, but fall through a legal loophole because they’re derived from hemp.
The ability to purchase marijuana at a gas station would mark a first, as it has only been available to purchase at heavily regulated dispensaries in states where medical and/or recreational cannabis use is legalized. The drug is still illegal at the federal level, although under the current administration, thousands of Americans with low-level pot-related criminal records will soon be cleared.
Gas station operator Circle K partners with cannabis dispensary Green Thumb and will sell medical marijuana products at select Florida locations starting next year. pic.twitter.com/D5AQPjTdMg
— The Recount Alt (@therecountalt) October 20, 2022
Green Thumb chairman and CEO Ben Kovler released a statement on the announcement.
“The opening of RISE Express stores at Circle K locations is a game-changer. Convenience is a strong channel in retail, and people want more access to cannabis,” Kovler wrote. “The new RISE Express model is a huge step forward in making it easier and more efficient for patients to purchase high-quality cannabis as part of their everyday routine when stopping by their local convenience store.”
The company will stock its Circle K displays with fresh products from its Ocala-based, 28-acre cannabis cultivation site, which is set to be completed by the end of 2022. Qualified customers will be able to purchase pre-rolled joints, marijuana flower, THC vaping pens, and edibles like gummies and chocolate bars that contain THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis that leads to the feeling of getting “high.”
The company has already been an active player on the Florida cannabis scene, owning several medical dispensaries in Bonita Springs, Deerfield Beach, Hallandale Beach, Kendall, Oviedo, Pinellas Park, and West Palm Beach.
Why Florida? Incredibly, even though it only sells to medical marijuana patients, the Sunshine State is the second largest seller of legalized cannabis, behind only California.
Depending on the program’s success, Green Thumb’s Kovler said “there’s appetite” from Circle K to explore additional states.
So far, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) hasn’t released a statement on the news; however, the state rakes in mountains of tax cash from the sales of medical marijuana, so it’s unlikely he would strongly oppose it, as it would undoubtedly trigger endless legal battles at the very least.
While marijuana usage is markedly less dangerous than abusing opioids and other hard drugs, there’s still plenty of hesitation and opposition from millions of Americans who do not agree with the idea of legalizing cannabis and who believe the drug is dangerous in many other ways.
Only in Biden’s America will parents have to explain to their children why people can purchase marijuana at the local gas station. The times they are a-changin.’
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