The San Diego City Council will consider next week an ordinance that would permit dispensing marijuana out of vending machines, Fox reported Friday.
The vending machines will not be like the ones that dispense munchies and sodas.
The machines would be inside brick-and-mortar dispensaries to be used for medical marijuana patients. To prevent fraud, the machines would require a fingerprint and a prepaid card.
Patients must swipe their prepaid cards and press their fingerprints in order to gain access to the medicine. Software built into the vending machines will confirm all prescriptions and dosage amounts.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner will ask the San Diego City Council to consider an ordinance allowing the reopening of 30 of these vending machines in the city. They were removed in 2011 during a crackdown.
Medbox CEO, Bruce Bedrick, the firm that is building the machines for $50,000, says the 800-pound armored devices are safe from theft. The company has begun taking location deposits.
"Our technology is not a vending machine that is sitting out on the street corner. This type of technology really helps regulate the industry," said Bedrick.
Medbox says 150 medical marijuana dispensaries in the U.S. and Canada have installed them , and have been safe and free of crime for the past four years.
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