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Vending machines that dispense marijuana have begun operating in Los Angeles, USA Today reports.
There's a catch though; the machines are only for the use of patients who cannot control their pain or nausea with other prescription drugs.
Voters in California approved doctor-prescribed marijuana for such patients in 1996, but the vending machines are a recent development.
The first two machines to be activated are at licensed cannabis clubs in the state and there are checks in place to ensure only those requiring the drug for medical reasons are able to obtain it.
The AVMs are inside a secure room which is guarded 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Patients wanting to use them need a prescription from their doctor and are fingerprinted and photographed.
They then receive a pre-paid card loaded with their individual profiles, which they can use to buy the drug in capsule form.
The machines dispense seven different strains of the drug in 3.5 and 7 gram dosages.
Patients can buy no more than one ounce per week.
Eleven US states allow the medicinal use of marijuana when prescribed by a doctor but the drug remains banned by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
