In the old days, you had to meet your trench coat-wearing dealer in a dark alleyway to buy weed (at least that’s what TV has told me).
Nowadays, in Eugene and Bend, there’s a weed platform called Dutchie, a tech start up based in Bend started in 2017. It offers people a way to order weed and cannabis products for delivery or pick up from local dispensaries. Thanks to venture capital investment, the company looks to expanding its services.
Dutchie will be in the green for a while thanks to the backing of the “Doggfather” of weed, Snoop Dogg. His venture capital firm, Casa Verde, which focuses on supporting cannabis-expanding industries, helped establish $3 million in seed money for Dutchie.
Eugene was the second city that Dutchie serviced. Bend was the first. Since expanding, CEO Ross Lipson tells Eugene Weekly there has been a lot of demand on the platform.
Weed-induced laziness jokes aside, the platform does allow users to see a dispensary’s menu without having to drive all around town. When a customer places an order, the dispensary then either delivers the product or sets it aside for pick up.
When I logged on to the website, there were 14 dispensaries active in Eugene. For the most part, orders require a $25 minimum for free delivery, and there’s a wait time of 35 to 45 minutes.
But Lipson wants to expand the company’s presence with that injection of $3 million. The company will increase its marketing to bring in more consumers and in turn increase the number of dispensaries that are active on the platform.
Dutchie is a product of living in an “on-demand economy,” Dutchie Lipson said in the press release.
“With Dutchie, we set out to create the easiest way for consumers to shop for cannabis, and the easiest way for dispensaries to sell it, giving them access to tools they’ve never had and customers they could never reach. We value a process that’s fast, easy and convenient and we’ll continuously deliver on those three fronts,” he said.
Other investors also include early executives of DoorDash, an online restaurant delivery service; Sinai Ventures, a capital firm focused on software and internet companies; and Durant Company, founded by NBA player Kevin Durant.
EW reminds you to tip your weed delivery person. Lipson says tipping is encouraged to be 10 to 15 percent.