Massachusetts: some clever entrepreneurs are already selling cannabis

While waiting for legal cannabis sales to begin in July 2018, some entrepreneurs in the Massachusetts have found a legal loophole to sell off their weed inventory: donating cannabis.

A "Love" fruit juice, please

In Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., recreational cannabis sales are not yet permitted. However, it is perfectly legal for one adult to give weed to another. Savvy entrepreneurs like David Umeh distribute weed bundled with other products. Here’s a brief overview of the Highspeed method.

Anyone unfamiliar with the trick might quickly get worked up: «55$ for a bottle of fruit juice! What a rip-off. But what’s this »Love« option?» The “love” option, dear potential customer, is next-day delivery of 6 bottles of fruit juice and a 3.5-gram bag of weed right to your door. The “Just Juice” option costs 11$, which works out to 44$ (35€) for 3.5 grams of weed.

If you find that a bit too long, Highspeed has adapted to its impatient and eager clientele. The «On Demand» options guarantee customers delivery within two hours. When contacted by Newsweed, the manager explained how he informs his customers about the available strains.

«There isn’t a specific strain for each drink. We restock our supply of weed every day. Once we’ve received the weed, we send out a newsletter to our customers, and they make their selections,» David Umeh tells us in an email.

Legal Uncertainty

Accused by some of being drug dealers in disguise, David Umeh defends himself in a local newspaper «We're not in the cannabis business; we're a startup that delivers juice. Plus, we make sure that everyone we deliver to is always over 21.»

The company’s founder is pushing the legal limit for how much marijuana can be given away in the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. Under the law, the gift or transfer «without compensation» of up to 1 ounce (28g) is legal as long as the exchange does not involve advertising the controlled substance.

Highspeed strictly complies with the law: their website never mentions cannabis or any substance similar to it.

The company plans to expand into New York, where regulations could change rapidly.

Theo Caillart.