Tumbleweed Dispensary in Parachute wants to use a drive-thru option to enhance the experience of a marijuana dispensary. It’s a smart move for this dispensary because Mark Smith, the chief executive officer of Tumbleweed Companies, may start a new trend for dispensaries.
We have all seen banks and fast food restaurants have a drive-thru. Why don’t we have the same process for people to get their marijuana now that it is legally sold in our state?
A drive-thru would cut down on the amount of time a regular customer is in a shop. They wouldn’t have to find parking, get out of their car, wait in line, order their bud, then go back out to their car and leave. Drive-thrus help customers get the product faster and more efficiently. The marijuana market should capitalize on this opportunity to create a more convenient shopping experience.
If one dispensary implements this drive-thru it will hopefully start a trend in the industry.
Having the drive-thru will also allow Tumbleweed to stay open until 12 a.m., despite the fact that the walk-in shop has to close at 9 p.m.
Robert Goulding, a spokesman for the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division, said in an email to the Daily Sentinel that “we are not aware of any other ‘drive-through’ modeled establishments.”
The unique and novel aspect makes this a potentially lucrative idea that could bring in more business for the dispensary.
“Colorado has had legalized weed for the last couple of years and there’s a lot of experienced smokers who know exactly what bud they want,” CMU student Hailey Weddington said of the new drive-thru concept.
Having a dispensary with a drive-thru makes the whole process of purchasing marijuana easier for both the business and the customer. It allows the consumer to quickly purchase their bud and start smoking it.
Kelsea Long, another CMU student, had a different take on a dispensary drive-thru.
“I do not think it’s necessarily safe or a wise plan. I’ve been to a dispensary before where you had to go through all the security. It was very well set up so no one under age could make it in. I think having it in a drive-thru would make it a hazard for the legalities and open them up for more crime,” Long said.
Long isn’t wrong. It would be very hard to make sure this process has the same amount of security that any other dispensaries have. However, Tumbleweed has taken this potential outcome into consideration and is prepared to prevent this issue.
Smith had an idea to make the dispensary similar to how a car wash works. The Tumbleweed car wash will actually occupy a former car wash and will work with a system of doors to close off the customer’s car from outside interference; no one under 21 is allowed in the drive thru vehicle during the purchasing process according to the Daily Sentinel.
The Sentinel reported, according to Tumbleweed spokeswoman Jenni Adams, the drive-thru is set to open by the end of March this year.
