A seal between the gas can and a packet of crisps. If it is certainly not for immediately in France where cannabis remains illegal, in the United States, in Florida more precisely, it will be possible from next year to buy cannabis-based products in gas stations.
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Everything was born out of a partnership between the Quebec group Couche-Tard, which owns the Circle K gas stations and grocery stores, and on the other Green Thumb, a company based in Chicago, in the United States, which produces all kinds of cannabis-based items.
With its 600 service stations across florida, Circle K has designated ten of them to test the sale of cannabis products. “It will change everything”, already assures the CEO of Green Thumb. And for good reason: this agreement is a huge step forward, he says, especially for patients who want to buy quality products easily and on a daily basis. These products will be manufactured at an 11-hectare site in Ocala, north of Orlando. The site will be ready at the end of the year normally.
Concretely, these joints already prepared, sweets or what to vape will not be in the same place as the bottles of water, sodas or even snacks. You will have to go to a dispensary, called “Rise Express”, right next to the gas station, with a separate entrance.
Next year, when consumers in Florida pick up a soda, chips or a candy bar when they load up for gas at Circle K gas station stores, they’ll be able to add another new item. https://t.co/eGInWWTiTf
— CNN (@CNN) October 19, 2022
And it is true that there is a certain logic in the partnership. Service stations already sell alcohol and cigarettes but also crisps, peanuts, biscuits. Precisely the kind of snacks that we sometimes crave after smoking. Americans call it “munchies”. From 2023, customers will therefore be able to buy snacks and what causes them to feel peckish at the same time.
Finally, only customers with a special card because, in Florida, only cannabis for medical use is authorized for the moment. This represents approximately 700,000 people out of 20 million inhabitants. The state is already the second largest cannabis market in the country, behind California, where administration and paperwork can discourage certain initiatives. 37 US states have legalized cannabis for medical use, 19 have legalized cannabis for recreational use. That said, it remains federally prohibited
But Circle K, obviously, would be tempted to expand the experience if all goes well. Couche-Tard, the parent company, launched an equivalent partnership in Canada last year. The prospects are huge for the neighbor with nearly 10,000 Circle K in North America. Selling cannabis at a gas station also helps to further normalize marijuana by integrating it alongside mainstream consumer products. In Toronto, Uber Eats offers to deliver cannabis and not just food, for example.