High-tech pot vending machines coming soon

A Vancouver-based cannabis company wants to make buying weed as easy as buying a snack. Kaneh Bosm Biotechnology, based on West Hastings Street, says it will be installing two high-tech marijuana vending machines — called BioCanna ADMs — by the end of this month. The locations have not yet been revealed. They won’t be the first pot vending machines in this city. Medical marijuana dispensary B.C. Pain Society installed Canada’s first vending machine last spring at its East Vancouver location. Buyers must be members, which requires a doctor’s note. Kaneh Bosm president Michael Martinz says the BioCanna ADM is similar to the Best Buy kiosks that dispense electronic items in airports. The machine will screen out people under the age of 19, verify that they are registered users and set daily maximums. Martinz said there are protection measures in place to prevent underage kids from using someone else’s ID. “If someone has stolen their parents’ ID they can’t just go up to a machine and use it. They also must have a PIN number associated with their registration,” he said. Martinz said Kaneh Bosm chose Vancouver to operate its ADM pilot project because marijuana market is entrenched here, with the city home to about 80 medical marijuana dispensaries. Medical pot dispensaries are operating in a legal grey area in Vancouver. The federal government overhauled the medical marijuana system last year to make only large-scale operations that are certified by Health Canada legal. However, the city and local police in Vancouver do not enforce these laws.