It's so easy to get marijuana in California, I got a prescription and delivery without leaving my desk

marijuana bud flower
A cannabis bud is seen at Amazon Organics, a pot dispensary in Eugene, Ore., on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015. Medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon will be able to sell recreational marijuana starting Thursday. (AP Photo/Ryan Kang)
Ryan Kang/AP

November marked a rather important milestone since my recent move to California. My state driver's license arrived in the mail, and I bought weed legally for the first time.

Advertisement

Before relocating from New York to the Golden State, I heard it was inconceivably easy to get cannabis here (though admittedly, it's now even more convenient in places like Washington and Oregon). All you had to do was tell a doctor you suffer from back pain, and voilà, the stoner-fairy godmothers would descend and grant you a medicinal marijuana ID card, allowing you to possess quantities pursuant with California law.

Thanks to startups like Eaze and Meadow, you can get a prescription online in minutes and have the product delivered to your doorstep.

As a frequent sufferer of anxiety and migraines, both conditions that are alleviated by medicinal marijuana use, I decided to try these services for myself. Turns out, it is easy.

Advertisement

Under California Prop 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, patients may obtain and use marijuana for medicinal treatment if they have a letter from a physician.

weed pot marijuana dispensary
In this Oct. 10, 2012 file photo, marijuana is weighed and packaged for sale at the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary in Seattle. Pot, at least certain amounts of it, will soon be legal under state law in Washington and Colorado. Now, officials in both states are trying to figure out how to keep doped drivers off the road. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Ted S. Warren/AP

So, one day during my lunch break two weeks ago, I headed over to Eaze.com.

eaze home page
Eaze
Advertisement

Eaze launched in 2014 as a medicinal marijuana delivery service, earning it the nickname "Uber for weed."

Eaze Marijuana App
Facebook/eazeteam

Earlier this year, the startup began offering a video conference service so prospective patients could register for a card via the website.

eaze md
Eaze.md
Advertisement

Typically, you have to make an appointment at a clinic, cough up $100 or more, and wait for your ID card to arrive in the mail.

annual physical doctor
Adam Berry/Getty Images

With EazeMD, which taps available third-party doctors to meet with patients, I could get started right away.

eaze md intro
Eaze
Advertisement

First, I filled out some basic patient history forms.

eaze patient history
Eaze.md

Eaze asked about my self-diagnosis and substance use. I had heard from friends that honesty was the best policy, so I admitted to smoking marijuana occasionally.

eaze substance use 3
EazeMD
Advertisement

The company charged my credit card $30 for the medical consultation and $10 for a mailed copy of the recommendation letter from my physician, which I opted into.

eaze payment
Eaze.md

A doctor would be with me shortly! Still at the office, I scrambled to find a quiet place to chat.

eaze doctor next
Eaze.md
Advertisement

Twenty-three minutes and one missed call later, and I received a text prompting me to check back on EazeMD's website.

eaze md text
Screenshot courtesy of Melia Robinson

I accepted the call and met my physician, who wore scrubs, was surrounded by human anatomy posters, and seemed to me like a very real doctor.

eazemd
Screenshot courtesy of Melia Robinson
Advertisement

He asked me about my anxiety and migraines. The doctor also asked how cannabis has helped me with those issues, which I explained, reluctantly.

meadow
Jillian D'Onfro/Business Insider

Less than five minutes later, he rattled off warnings about the use of marijuana and announced I'd been approved. Hurrah!

eaze approved
Eaze.md
Advertisement

My letter of recommendation was ready to be downloaded instantly. It ensures that my possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes exempts me from criminal prosecution in California.

eaze almost done
Eaze.md

With the click of a button, EazeMD routed me to Eaze's home menu. Time to shop.

eaze marijuana
Eaze
Advertisement

After filling up my cart with flower and edibles, I tried and tried to check out. But the wait time kept getting pushed back due to a surge in demand. Eaze deliveries take 15 minutes on average, so my experience was atypical.

eaze
Eaze

I bailed once my wait time reached into the next day and hopped over to Meadow. It's the other "Uber for weed," founded in 2014.

meadow marijuana delivery service
Meadow
Advertisement

I created an account.

meadow login
Meadow

And I uploaded the letter of recommendation from my EazeMD physician, which allowed me to instantly buy weed from Meadow.

meadow
Meadow
Advertisement

Meadow partners with nearby dispensaries to source product. The website sorts inventory by strain and type, such as flowers, pre-rolls, edibles, and concentrates.

meadow marijuana delivery service
Meadow
Advertisement

The Blackberry Beret caught my attention because its description promised a high level of mental clarity when smoked.

meadow marijuana
Meadow

I filled my shopping cart with both marijuana brownie bites and the Blackberry Beret to meet the rather high $80 delivery minimum.

meadow shopping cart
Meadow
Advertisement

Just a few clicks later, my weed delivery courier was en route!

meadow
Meadow

Meadow requires cash payment, so I darted to the nearest ATM and took out $100.

money ATM
Melia Robinson/Tech Insider
Advertisement

The receptionist called to say I had a delivery at the desk, and I raced to meet my courier. He carried a small blue gift bag.

meadow delivery guy
Stephen of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, a San Francisco dispensary partnered with Meadow, arrives with my package.
Courtesy of Melia Robinson/Tech Insider

In a single afternoon at the office, I acquired a medicinal marijuana card and had weed delivered to my doorstep. Had there not been a demand surge, I could have gotten it done in an hour.

marijuana bud
Not my bud.
David Zalubowski/AP
Marijuana
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.