7 ms·

California bans drones from delivering marijuana

59 points by dvdhnt 9y ago

c0nducktr 9y ago
Good to see California really tackling the big issues.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- pavel_lishin 9y ago
  That's not a useful point of view. Should they only tackle one issue at a time, in order of priority?
  - josefresco 9y ago
    They shouldn't tackle this at all...
    - daveFNbuck 9y ago
      By "this" do you mean marijuana legalization, regulation around the sale and delivery of marijuana, or specifically the part about drones?
      - josefresco 9y ago
        I did mean the drone part, but now that you mention it ... all of it - regulation of cannabis should be like alcohol but even lighter IMHO
        pavel_lishin 9y ago
        So you're saying that, yes, they should regulate it. Out of the thousands of other issues facing the California government, where would you rank it?
        daveFNbuck 9y ago
        Until they do this, no one can sell recreational marijuana legally in the state. The whole point of this is that they're making the regulations lighter. Is that really what you're against?
    - s73ver_ 9y ago
      Yes, they should. You know someone in SV wanted to be the Uber of weed delivery through drones.
- joshribakoff 9y ago
  Lots of big people in tech do drugs. Steve jobs did acid and Carl Sagan smoked weed. If it weren't for progressive states like California we'd still be locking these people up. Maybe there's people in jail for marijuana possession that could really be benefiting society if they were free. In theory there could be someone who's capable of curing cancer but they can't because they're locked up over something harmless. Part of legalizing is regulating.
- daveFNbuck 9y ago
  Agreed. Getting regulations in place for a new $5 billion industry is a huge issue.
donatj 9y ago
> Transportation may not be done by aircraft, watercraft, rail, drones, human powered vehicles, or unmanned vehicles. What? Why no marijuana watercraft? In all seriousness though this seems very arbitrary.
- elthran 9y ago
  > human powered vehicles Does anyone have an idea why bicycles would be a problem?
  - falcolas 9y ago
    I can only imagine this is borne out of "ways we saw marijuana transported while it was still illegal."
  - TFortunato 9y ago
    Completely spitballing this one, but I can imagine that a bike might be argued to not be a safe way to transport drugs or any sort of high-value delivery, since they are less easily secured and more easily stolen than a locked motor vehicle when it's parked outside an apartment building (for example).
    - djrogers 9y ago
      ^ This. The California government likes to regulate away things it thinks will be dangerous, or that it's citizens will be too ignorant to avoid doing. Honestly I'm kinda surprised they didn't specify armored car transport as the only acceptable option.
- Hupriene 9y ago
  This is probably motivated in part by a desire to prevent legal in-state distribution from being easily parleyed into illegal interstate distribution. They want to be able to keep track of all the vehicles distributing mj. This is easier if they can only drive on roads and are required to have gps. Since federal regulation of mj is built on the interstate commerce clause, actual interstate commerce is a likely trigger of conflict between the federal government and the California mj industry
escapologybb 9y ago
Well, we don't want the drones getting high now do we? I'm so so sorry, I just couldn't resist
- Cthulhu_ 9y ago
  Flagged. :p
  - escapologybb 9y ago
    Is no more than I deserve! In all (okay, somewhat) seriousness, if they really such a demand for waterborne delivery of marijuana that has to be regulated against? Also, the regulations seem to specify that GPS must be used so that the vehicle and by extension the weed can be tracked at all times. Drones come with GPS chips that are just as easily tracked, no? This seems genuinely puzzling.
    - joshribakoff 9y ago
      im guessing their concern is the drone malfunctions and drops the goods over an elementary school. They want hand to hand transactions with consenting adults
  - Stratoscope 9y ago
    When humor is outlawed, only outlaws will have humor.
    - legulere 9y ago
      The problem is that if you allow witty comments that contribute nothing substantially, you will end up with nothing else but witty comments. This happened to a lot of subreddits on reddit.
      - jtmarmon 9y ago
        Pretty much all of it. Except for askscience which is pretty strict on it
gourou 9y ago
Drones already deliver medicine in California though https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12350274/zipline-drone-delivery-us-launch-blood-medicine https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12350274/zipline-drone-del...
- greeneggs 9y ago
  Zipline has no drone delivery operations in California, or anywhere in the US. That article was about starting operations in Maryland and Washington, but neither operation has started yet. They currently operate only in Rwanda, and should start in Tanzania. http://www.flyzipline.com/service/ http://www.flyzipline.com/service/
  - gourou 9y ago
    My bad, they're based in California but don't operate there. Thanks for the correction.
- rflrob 9y ago
  Cannabis, while undoubtedly a medicinal product, is one with a very high possibility of being used recreationally. Nobody is going to consider batting down a drone carrying chemotherapy drugs being delivered to a reservation, whereas the risk is a lot higher for pot brownies. If (and I don't know whether this is true) the cannabis delivery rules are similar in scope to alcohol delivery rules, I'm not going to get myself worked up over it.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    I think you overestimate people. There are lots of people that would bat down chemo drugs if they thought they had a buyer.
  - josefresco 9y ago
    "very high possibility of being used recreationally" You mean like opioids?
- microcolonel 9y ago
sharemywin 9y ago
Brings up an interesting problem...How do the police pull over a drone or rover etc? Should these vehicles have visibly identifiable plates/cards?
- xemoka 9y ago
  Yep, the FAA requires drones to have visible identifier if over 0.55 lbs. There's even a couple sites[1][2] to help manage it, although I'm not sure how beneficial they are... I've only been flying drones in Canada. [1] https://drone-registration.net/ https://drone-registration.net/ [2] https://www.droneid.us/ https://www.droneid.us/
1024core 9y ago
"Transportation may not be done by ... human powered vehicles ..." Does that mean no bike deliveries?
DonHopkins 9y ago
How about T-Shirt Guns? http://www.tshirtguns.com/ http://www.tshirtguns.com/
quuquuquu 9y ago
Would other industries be wise to expect such regulations? All of my "Drone Uber for [weed, pills, guns, flammable materials, knives, slingshots, katanas, scissors, ...]" ideas are now in limbo.
edoceo 9y ago
In regulated states transport must happen in a locked container, fixed to the vehicle, operated by a licensed driver. The driver, and vehicle must me registered with the State agency. CA is likely following existing legal designs. Hard to do those things on bikes or drones.
runnr_az 9y ago
No sequel to Air Bud?
jaclaz 9y ago
>The Bureau also specifically states that those delivering the cannabis aren’t allowed to consume the substance while out on the delivery. Since driving under the effects of marijuana is already not allowed, maybe they are specifying it for non-driving people?
synicalx 9y ago
Damn, so does this mean I need to actually take off my VR apparatus to receive delivery of my dank legal weed? I can still pay with Bitcoin, right? Sorry I mean Bitcash. Wait no, Dogecoin? Or was it Litecoin? For real though, 2017 produces the best ever news headlines.

59 points by dvdhnt 9y ago

c0nducktr 9y ago

Good to see California really tackling the big issues.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
pavel_lishin 9y ago
That's not a useful point of view. Should they only tackle one issue at a time, in order of priority?
- josefresco 9y ago
  They shouldn't tackle this at all...
  - daveFNbuck 9y ago
    By "this" do you mean marijuana legalization, regulation around the sale and delivery of marijuana, or specifically the part about drones?
    - josefresco 9y ago
      I did mean the drone part, but now that you mention it ... all of it - regulation of cannabis should be like alcohol but even lighter IMHO
      - pavel_lishin 9y ago
        So you're saying that, yes, they should regulate it. Out of the thousands of other issues facing the California government, where would you rank it?
      - daveFNbuck 9y ago
        Until they do this, no one can sell recreational marijuana legally in the state. The whole point of this is that they're making the regulations lighter. Is that really what you're against?
  - s73ver_ 9y ago
    Yes, they should. You know someone in SV wanted to be the Uber of weed delivery through drones.
joshribakoff 9y ago
Lots of big people in tech do drugs. Steve jobs did acid and Carl Sagan smoked weed. If it weren't for progressive states like California we'd still be locking these people up. Maybe there's people in jail for marijuana possession that could really be benefiting society if they were free. In theory there could be someone who's capable of curing cancer but they can't because they're locked up over something harmless. Part of legalizing is regulating.
daveFNbuck 9y ago
Agreed. Getting regulations in place for a new $5 billion industry is a huge issue.

donatj 9y ago

> Transportation may not be done by aircraft, watercraft, rail, drones, human powered vehicles, or unmanned vehicles. What? Why no marijuana watercraft? In all seriousness though this seems very arbitrary.

elthran 9y ago
> human powered vehicles Does anyone have an idea why bicycles would be a problem?
- falcolas 9y ago
  I can only imagine this is borne out of "ways we saw marijuana transported while it was still illegal."
- TFortunato 9y ago
  Completely spitballing this one, but I can imagine that a bike might be argued to not be a safe way to transport drugs or any sort of high-value delivery, since they are less easily secured and more easily stolen than a locked motor vehicle when it's parked outside an apartment building (for example).
  - djrogers 9y ago
    ^ This. The California government likes to regulate away things it thinks will be dangerous, or that it's citizens will be too ignorant to avoid doing. Honestly I'm kinda surprised they didn't specify armored car transport as the only acceptable option.
Hupriene 9y ago
This is probably motivated in part by a desire to prevent legal in-state distribution from being easily parleyed into illegal interstate distribution. They want to be able to keep track of all the vehicles distributing mj. This is easier if they can only drive on roads and are required to have gps. Since federal regulation of mj is built on the interstate commerce clause, actual interstate commerce is a likely trigger of conflict between the federal government and the California mj industry

escapologybb 9y ago

Well, we don't want the drones getting high now do we? I'm so so sorry, I just couldn't resist

Cthulhu_ 9y ago
Flagged. :p
- escapologybb 9y ago
  Is no more than I deserve! In all (okay, somewhat) seriousness, if they really such a demand for waterborne delivery of marijuana that has to be regulated against? Also, the regulations seem to specify that GPS must be used so that the vehicle and by extension the weed can be tracked at all times. Drones come with GPS chips that are just as easily tracked, no? This seems genuinely puzzling.
  - joshribakoff 9y ago
    im guessing their concern is the drone malfunctions and drops the goods over an elementary school. They want hand to hand transactions with consenting adults
- Stratoscope 9y ago
  When humor is outlawed, only outlaws will have humor.
  - legulere 9y ago
    The problem is that if you allow witty comments that contribute nothing substantially, you will end up with nothing else but witty comments. This happened to a lot of subreddits on reddit.
    - jtmarmon 9y ago
      Pretty much all of it. Except for askscience which is pretty strict on it

gourou 9y ago

Drones already deliver medicine in California though https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12350274/zipline-drone-delivery-us-launch-blood-medicine https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/2/12350274/zipline-drone-del...

greeneggs 9y ago
Zipline has no drone delivery operations in California, or anywhere in the US. That article was about starting operations in Maryland and Washington, but neither operation has started yet. They currently operate only in Rwanda, and should start in Tanzania. http://www.flyzipline.com/service/ http://www.flyzipline.com/service/
- gourou 9y ago
  My bad, they're based in California but don't operate there. Thanks for the correction.
rflrob 9y ago
Cannabis, while undoubtedly a medicinal product, is one with a very high possibility of being used recreationally. Nobody is going to consider batting down a drone carrying chemotherapy drugs being delivered to a reservation, whereas the risk is a lot higher for pot brownies. If (and I don't know whether this is true) the cannabis delivery rules are similar in scope to alcohol delivery rules, I'm not going to get myself worked up over it.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  I think you overestimate people. There are lots of people that would bat down chemo drugs if they thought they had a buyer.
- josefresco 9y ago
  "very high possibility of being used recreationally" You mean like opioids?
microcolonel 9y ago

sharemywin 9y ago

Brings up an interesting problem...How do the police pull over a drone or rover etc? Should these vehicles have visibly identifiable plates/cards?

xemoka 9y ago
Yep, the FAA requires drones to have visible identifier if over 0.55 lbs. There's even a couple sites[1][2] to help manage it, although I'm not sure how beneficial they are... I've only been flying drones in Canada. [1] https://drone-registration.net/ https://drone-registration.net/ [2] https://www.droneid.us/ https://www.droneid.us/

1024core 9y ago

"Transportation may not be done by ... human powered vehicles ..." Does that mean no bike deliveries?

DonHopkins 9y ago

How about T-Shirt Guns? http://www.tshirtguns.com/ http://www.tshirtguns.com/

quuquuquu 9y ago

Would other industries be wise to expect such regulations? All of my "Drone Uber for [weed, pills, guns, flammable materials, knives, slingshots, katanas, scissors, ...]" ideas are now in limbo.

edoceo 9y ago

In regulated states transport must happen in a locked container, fixed to the vehicle, operated by a licensed driver. The driver, and vehicle must me registered with the State agency. CA is likely following existing legal designs. Hard to do those things on bikes or drones.

runnr_az 9y ago

No sequel to Air Bud?

jaclaz 9y ago

>The Bureau also specifically states that those delivering the cannabis aren’t allowed to consume the substance while out on the delivery. Since driving under the effects of marijuana is already not allowed, maybe they are specifying it for non-driving people?

synicalx 9y ago

Damn, so does this mean I need to actually take off my VR apparatus to receive delivery of my dank legal weed? I can still pay with Bitcoin, right? Sorry I mean Bitcash. Wait no, Dogecoin? Or was it Litecoin? For real though, 2017 produces the best ever news headlines.