Cannabis retail outlet
A cannabis retail outlet (also known as cannabis shop, cannabis dispensary, cannabis store, cannabis cooperative) is a location at which cannabis is sold or otherwise dispensed, either for recreational or for medical use.
Due to the complex legal regimes surrounding cannabis, cannabis shops have different names and modalities depending on the jurisdiction. In the Netherlands these are called coffeeshops.[1] In the United States they exist as an outlet for both recreational and medical use, often called dispensaries. In other jurisdictions like Malta, Spain, Uruguay, Germany, cannabis dispensation takes place in cannabis social clubs, legally not considered as a retail shop but as non-profit cooperatives. Finally, there are other types of cannabis shops like Bhang shops in India and experimental cannabis dispensation systems in Switzerland.
Cannabis shops differ from head shops in that the latter sells only drug paraphernalia. The world's largest cannabis dispensary is in Las Vegas, Nevada at 112,000 square feet opened by Planet 13 Holdings.[2][3]
Types of cannabis retail outlets
Coffeeshop
Cannabis selling coffeeshops began in the 1970s. Establishments like Mellow Yellow coffeeshop were known for open cannabis smoking and dealing. After an explosion of hard drugs authorities began to tolerate soft drugs and legalized cannabis selling in registered coffeeshops.[4]
Dispensary
In Canada and certain territories of the United States, dispensaries distribute cannabis to the general public or in some cases only to approved patients.[5] In Uruguay cannabis dispensaries are built by the government and can sell to the public.[6]
In 2015, the City of San Diego made A Green Alternative the first licensed medical cannabis dispensary and delivery service in the city.[7]
Dispensaries in Canada are also popularly known as cannabis stores (Canadian English).
Cannabis social club
A Cannabis social club (CSC) is a non-profit members-only industry model for non-medical cannabis. CSCs do not "sell" cannabis as such: legally, they only grow the amount needed for their members in exchange for the costs of production (a form of delegation of home cultivation to the club). The exchange of the product against money is not considered a sale, but a sharing of the costs of production, and therefore can be considered a personal activity, happening in collective private settings.[8]
CSCs exist without specific regulation, taking advantage of legal precedents, in New Zealand, Spain,[9] Belgium,[10] France,[11] the Netherlands,[12] Slovenia,[13] and Austria.[14] They are regulated by law in Uruguay (since 2014), Malta (since 2021), and Germany (since 2024).
Bhang shop
In India, several Indian states allow licensed bhang shops to sell bhang, a decoction of cannabis. They mainly sell traditional cannabis-infused Indian bhang drinks Bhang lassi and Bhang thandai.
Experimentations
In Switzerland, the first pilot project of recreational adult use dispensation, half-way between a dispansary and a cannabis club, started on 31 January 2023.
The Netherlands is also experimenting a legal dispensary system, in parallel of its coffeeshop model. The pilot project started in December 2023.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "Dutch cannabis cafe owners fight changes - BBC News". BBC News. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ Chen, Angela (2018-11-15). "We visited the world's largest cannabis dispensary". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
- ^ Im, Jimmy (2018-11-03). "The world's largest cannabis dispensary just opened in Vegas—and it has an entertainment complex attached". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
- ^ "Amsterdam Coffeeshops Guide". amsterdam.info. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
- ^ "List of Canadian dispensaries". Archived from the original on 2012-06-11.
- ^ Carless, Will (2015-01-07) Uruguay's Year In Marijuana: 3 Successes, 3 Burning Questions. NBC News. Retrieved on 2015-12-17.
- ^ "Inside San Diego's First Legal, Medical Pot Shop". NBC San Diego. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
- ^ "Innovation Born of Necessity: Pioneering Drug Policy in Catalonia". www.opensocietyfoundations.org. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
- ^ Hanf Journal: Spanien: Gerichtsverfahren gegen Cannabis-Anbau-Clubs eingestellt! Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine 13. Decembre 2006
- ^ Hanf Journal: Freispruch für „Trekt Uw Plant“, 15. March 2010
- ^ "Bientôt des "cannabistrots" ?". Libération.fr.
- ^ VOC Nederland: Primeur: kijkje in eerste Nederlandse Cannabis Social Club, Tree of Life Amsterdam, 27.10.2014
- ^ Medijuana Magazin: "Dem Ganja verdanke ich mein Leben", 5. Februar 2014
- ^ ORF Salzburg: Marihuana: Club fordert Legalisierung, 14.05.2014
External links
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