I’m not sure I’m totally sold on Aliso Viejo’s Dispense Labs’ Autospense medical marijuana vending machine. I suppose for convenience it wins, however cutting out the person behind the counter whose job it is to guide you in the right direction with the vast cannabis selections in states with dispensary cultures is like cutting out the pharmacist at your local pharmacy.

Different strains of marijuana have very different effects, and it really helps to have someone with a working (even anecdotal) knowledge of the strains to assist when making your choices. It’s also important to physically see and smell the cannabis before purchasing. With Autospense, you can’t do that and it seems like a gamble.

From Orange County Register:

To use, patients must swipe a registration card, then enter a PIN number. Payment may be made with cash, credit or debit, then a door opens to release the product.

 

 
From the Autospense website:

After providing the proper documentation, the patient will be issued a pre-approved registration/membership card and have the opportunity to register in an optional finger print scanner system, which enables around-the-clock access to the Autospense machine. The member is granted access and walks into a well secured and camera monitored showroom.

 
Via Laughing Squid