Uber Eats Delivering Cannabis with Newest Partnership

Uber Eats Partners with Leafly to Deliver Cannabis

For the first time, users of a major third-party delivery service can get cannabis delivered straight to their homes. This move comes as Uber Eats, one of the global leaders in e-commerce and delivery technology, partners with Leafly, a leading online cannabis marketplace and source for cannabis-related content. The service was first rolled out in Toronto on October 17th, allowing Uber Eats users aged 19+ to order cannabis from their local licensed cannabis retailers who partner with the program.

Reducing Impaired Driving?

Uber Eats is advertising this as a tool to reduce the illegal cannabis market and help reduce cannabis-impaired drivers.

“We are partnering with industry leaders like Leafly to help retailers offer safe, convenient options for people in Toronto to purchase legal cannabis for delivery to their homes, which will help combat the illegal market and help reduce impaired driving,” Lola Kassim, general manager of Uber Eats Canada, said in a statement. “Over the last few years, we have invested heavily in our delivery business and selection has expanded tremendously. Uber Eats has grown quickly to become a versatile platform usable by diverse businesses large and small.”

The illegal cannabis market still accounts for over 50% of all nonmedical cannabis sales in Ontario. A separate research study done by Public First shows that about 1 in 7 cannabis users admit to having driven a vehicle within 2 hours of consuming cannabis. Uber Eats hopes its new delivery option will combat some of these issues.

How it works

Uber Eats users in Toronto who would like to utilize this service just have to follow these easy steps.

• Select the “Cannabis” category or search for one of the licensed cannabis retailers (Currently only “Hidden Leaf Cannabis”, “Minerva Cannabis”,  and “Shivaa’s Rose”) in the Uber Eats app where they will face an age verification warning.
• Users within the delivery distance of the retailer then can navigate the menu of the retailer to place an order.
• Upon ordering, the user sees a familiar Uber Eats screen. They can see when the retailer accepts the order and the estimated delivery time and updates.
• In accordance with provincial regulations, the order will only be delivered by the licensed cannabis retailer’s own CannSell-certified staff. At this current moment, independent third-party delivery people will not deliver cannabis.
• When the delivery person arrives, the delivery person will verify the user’s age and sobriety.

What’s to Come?

Uber Eats has not stated any plans to expand this program outside of Toronto yet. It is safe to assume that this could be just the first of many cannabis delivery programs to roll out soon. It is more than likely that the creation of this program was the hard part. Now, it should be easy to add cities to the Uber Eats cannabis delivery program. With the legalization of marijuana in the states, it is interesting to see what will come out of this partnership and if a similar opportunity could come to some of America’s big cannabis cities. Already there are small independent retailers delivering cannabis in places like San Fransico. A deal like this could help these retailers making it safer and more convenient.

Here at Scarlet Reserve Dispensary, we are optimistic about this Uber Eats partnership. We hope to take advantage of any new opportunities that might arise in cannabis delivery in New Jersey. You can find more information about us here.