Cannabis ‘gifting’ pops up in Massachusetts before legal cannabis hits the market

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Legal cannabis retail stores are set to open in Massachusetts in just a few months, but some business have already started to sell and deliver cannabis to its customers through a legal loophole that allows cannabis to be “gifted” in cannabis-friendly states.

According to the AP, at least two companies have operated cannabis-gifting services in the Boston area for over a year, while two others have operated in western Massachusetts.

HighSpeed, who markets itself as a juice delivery service, uses the cannabis-gifting loophole to deliver free cannabis with a $55 bottle of juice.

According to the law in adult use cannabis-friendly states, passing a joint at a party or gifting cannabis to your friends or family is decriminalized, hence why companies like HighSpeed and Duuber get away with gifting cannabis to their customers.

Duuber, another cannabis delivery service, has drivers delivering T-shirts to its clients with a special gift inside: free cannabis.

Companies like Duuber and HighSpeed rely solely on word of of mouth to market their services, to avoid any confrontations with the state or federal law. HighSpeed doesn’t mention cannabis at all on their website, which allows you to order your juice purchase online for delivery. A bottle of Strawberry Lemonade juice can be ordered for delivery in Boston, in two different sizes: “Love” costs $55 for a six pack and a special gift, while “Lots Of Love” comes with a 24 pack and a special gift for $150.

The AP put in a order of $60 for “Raspberry Roxbury” with “Love” and received a bottle of Tazo juice along with about an eighth of an ounce of cannabis.

Cannabis-friendly folks that are in the know of cannabis street prices estimate that “Love” will get you approximately an eighth of cannabis, while “Lots Of Love” will get you a quarter, seven grams.

Duuber is equally as discreet on their website on what they are offering along with their T-shirts, however there are signs of the service having cannabis affiliation. The website upon entering asks the user if he/she is an adult over 21, in a pop up question with a picture of a cannabis leaf.

The AP ordered a $100 product listed as “Luxury Tshirt – Citrus – small” the brown paper bag delivered by a driver contained a white T-shirt with the company’s name in black over an image of a marijuana leaf — and a clear plastic bag of cannabis labeled “1/4 Ruthless OG.”

“Under any fair reading of the law, these businesses are illegal,” Roger Katz, a Republican state senator in Maine, who is studying the issue, told Leafly. “If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck.”

While most state officials are calling such businesses unlawful, some are calling these entrepreneurs smart for building their customer base even before they officially start a business in the cannabis industry.