PHOENIX — Recreational marijuana can now be delivered to your home in Arizona, just like a pizza delivery.
The Arizona Department of Health Services rule went into effect Friday, allowing dispensaries to deliver by car.
Medical marijuana patients have been able to order medical marijuana delivery for years, but the rule change now applies to recreational sales.
"This is going to be very popular," Raul Molina with Mint Cannabis said. "There's a big section of the consumers out there that do not want to commit to the dispensary."
Molina said he's getting his fleet together to start delivery, which will likely start in about two weeks. He said Mint Cannabis plans to be fully up and running for deliveries by Dec. 1. But he expects the new service to be more of a convenience than a business driver.
"I think the customer base in Arizona has pretty much been settled," he said. "Overall it will be a switch from people who are coming into the store who are now receiving it at home."
Delivery comes with a few rules, however. Delivery cars have to have a locked safe to transport products. Dispensaries have security plans, and most cars are video-monitored and GPS-tracked. Dispensaries must be sure they deliver to the person who ordered and that person is of legal age.
"We will have card swipers in the car," Anthony Harrington with AllGreens in Sun City said. The swipers will read driver's licenses and IDs.
Harrington said AllGreens has had a delivery fleet for years because their primary customer base is medical marijuana patients. Medical dispensaries have been able to deliver for years.
Medical marijuana requires a prescription card and is typically more potent than recreational marijuana.
Industry experts tell 12News the rule change came earlier than expected. They believed recreational delivery would happen after the first of the year, so most are still implementing their ordering systems and fleets.