Even before finding Jah on his pilgrimage to Jamaica back in 2012, Snoop Dogg has long been a patron saint of piff. In fact, the Southern California-born rapper was a teenage Cameron Diaz’s dealer back when they both attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Today, news broke today that the Doggfather is again nobley crusading for America’s humble stoners: he’s invested in an app that’s being dubbed the Uber of weed delivery.
TIME and High Times alike have reported on the advent of Eaze, the Bay Area-based startup that’s giving your dude stuck on Dealer Standard Time a run for his money by promising to deliver medicinal dope to your doorstep in less than 10 minutes. Unless you’re the salaried employee rolling Waka Flocka’s joints, it’s probably quicker than the time it’ll take you to grind, gut, and lick your way to a grade-A blunt in the first place.
The app–which allows users to select strands and contact their drivers–has raked in over $10 million in funding from a slew of investors including Snoop’s firm Casa Verde Capital, Quartz reports. In the nine months since its November launch and backed only by $1.5 mil of initial (wait for it) seed money, Eaze has made more than 30,000 deliveries to San Francisco’s stoners. Although Eaze’s services are presently only open to medical marijuana patients who are legally allowed to purchase weed in states that have fully legalized herb, the app is gaining serious momentum.
As more and more states pass legalization and decriminalization measures, America is starting to realize the benefits of lifting weed’s Schedule 1 classification, imposed in 1970’s Controlled Substance Act. It’s been long known that marijuana boasts myriad medical benefits from pain relief to seizure control, but many are starting to realize the socioeconomic advantages that accompany legalization.
In a system where weed is procured through legally regulated dispensaries rather than Nancy Botwin and co., its prices will fall in competitive markets. And with soaring sales comes a shitload of previously non-existent tax revenuewhich can be used for lots of wonderful things like improving roads, arts programs in public schools, and those body cams police officers should be wearing. And on the subject of police, legalization’s proponents also cite another powerful potential benefit: dramatically lower incarceration rates, especially among minority communities where thinly veiled racism masquerades as stop and frisks.
Snoop’s investment in Eaze might simply stem from his lifelong dream of speedy weed delivery drivers outpacing Pizza Hut’s, but whatever his intentions, the rapper’s support has (sorry, last one) sparked a meaningful conversation about the inevitable realities of a greener America.
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Bob Doran via Flickr Creative Commons