There may actually be no reason to ever leave your home again.
At this point, it may be easier to count things that don't have a subscription-based service behind it, and although Potbox may not be the first marijuana subscription box to date, it is certainly the fanciest we've seen.
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Using buzzwords that you'd typically find on wine menu, Potbox is launching a California-based monthly subscription box that delivers "highest-quality, most ethically-grown cannabis" right to your door.
However, because marijuana is not legal recreationally in the state, subscribers must be registered medical marijuana patients, which we hear is about as hard as buying a bottle of cough syrup. The company is rolling out in San Francisco initially, and is testing out some areas of Los Angeles.
Although there is only one set package -- $149.95 for a quarter-ounce of two types of weed, as well as two hand-rolled joints, the company plans on adding additional pricing, delivery and product options. A representative for the company told Mashable that their bags are heavier than most, weighing in at 8 grams per quarter-ounce, and about a gram for each joint, totaling 10 grams of pot per package.
According to Price of Weed, the average cost of an ounce of weed in the state of California is $241.95, but that's including the black market, and may not be delivered to your door. Marvina, a similar subscription box for cannabis costs $95 for a quarter-ounce of flower delivered -- that's 7 grams.
Potbox prides itself on quality, ethically-produced cannabis, which is all grown in small batches on three different farms in the Santa Cruz area. The pot is carefully selected by its cannabis experts, and each month subscribers will receive two strains, curated for each user's desired experience.
So what's the point?
There is no shortage of medical marijuana dispensaries in the Bay Area or delivery services, so why subscribe to a service?
Well, according to Austin Heap, co-founder and CEO of Potbox, the subscription-based service is "a more sophisticated alternative to the various other ‘on-demand’ cannabis delivery services that simply aggregate and deliver whatever inventory is currently available at the local dispensaries.”
Additionally, the company is trying to make buying pot easier for their customers. The pot world is vast, confusing and filled with misinformation, so Potbox aims to take any frustration and paranoia out of the process of visiting a dispensary. This is California after all, where it's somewhat common for police to raid medical marijuana dispensaries with guns drawn.
The experience
We received a sample box, sadly without any actual cannabis, and the presentation was upscale and on par with something you'd receive from the fanciest farmer's market.
The box contained two corked glass jars labeled with strain, genetics, palate and aroma information, which would normally be filled with flower, as well as two wax-sealed glass tubes containing joints and an information sheet containing facts about the farm where the specific product is grown.
The "bud" we received was from Island in the Sky Farms, which included facts about its appellation, terroir, elevation, climate and more. "Located in the famous Santa Cruz Mountains," the card reads, "Island in the Sky Farms is a fully bio-dynamic cannabis production facility. All Flowers are grown, harvested, dried, cured and trimmed on-site using sustainable methods."
Ultimately we could see this being an interesting service for people who don't feel comfortable visiting a dispensary, don't have the time and also enjoy fancier products and services.
Although Potbox doesn't have immediate plans to head into the retail market in the growing number of states where it is now legal recreationally, they have the infrastructure to do so.
Goodbye dirt weed. Hello, Whole Foods -- delivered.
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