Drone weed delivery coming soon to San Francisco

When they're not busy slicing off Enrique Iglesias' fingers, drones prefer to spend their time delivering the latest Marc Lévy that you ordered drunk on Amazon. While Amazon is still trying to convince the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate airspace properly, a new San Francisco start-up is bringing the drone delivery one step further.

Trees, a delivery service for Bitcoin-friendly marijuana, promises an experience that blends the drones of turf with the bygone charm of home delivery. For now, Trees offers three different cannabis box ranges: the Beginner Box (99$), the Bud Box and the Extract Box (both 149$). Each box contains two varieties of weed, some cannabis extracts and accessories (lighter, leaves, etc.). Traditional delivery is currently only available to users of medical marijuana located in the San Francisco Bay Area, but intends to expand into Los Angeles and Denver as quickly as possible.

Trees' bud box

To be clear, drone delivery is still just a project. In a press release, a Trees spokesperson confirms that drone delivery «will be deployed in the future when the regulation of flying objects is settled» by the FAA. That hasn't stopped Trees from working on a prototype of the future drone, as can be seen in the presentation video below.

Regulatory issues are also one of the reasons why Trees decided to accept payment in Bitcoin. And 1/3 of their customers now pay in crypto-currency. «Around 30% of our customers use bitcoin. We chose it because it allows us to accept online payments without relying on a third-party banking partner,» said the spokesperson. «The medical marijuana industry has difficulties with banks. Many are unwilling to cooperate because of regulatory issues».

Eaze, another home delivery of weed, has also included the possibility of drone delivery in its roadmap, but faces the same regulatory problems as Tress. Eaze founder Keith McCarty had this to say last November: «If I had to imagine the future of drug delivery, drones would definitely be part of the plan. Some of our patients are developing drones and have already contacted us.»