Door-to-door dope denied: Judge curbs LA medical marijuana delivery app

A smartphone application that allows patients to order medical marijuana deliveries directly to their homes has been blocked in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the provider of the service has cried foul.

Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien passed a ruling on Tuesday against Nestdrop, the maker of the first US-based smartphone application for ordering medical marijuana, to stop deliveries of the drug in Los Angeles.

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City Attorney Mike Feuer this month filed a lawsuit against the company, saying its app violates restrictions on the sale of medical marijuana in the city limits. According to Feuer, Nestdrop was operating in violation of Proposition D, a measure passed last year that restricts the number of medical marijuana dispensaries while prohibiting delivery services.

“This app is a flagrant attempt to circumvent the will of the voters who passed Prop D,” Feuer said in the statement.

Nestdrop, which also facilitates the home delivery of alcohol, said in a statement the court ruling does nothing to stop other companies from providing medical marijuana deliveries.

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“Today’s ruling does not stop the delivery of medical marijuana in Los Angeles by the dozens of delivery services in the city,” Nestdrop co-founder Michael Pycher said in a statement, as quoted by Bloomberg. “It only restricts Nestdrop from communicating information between a patient and a dispensary.”

The company, which said it doesn’t grow or deliver marijuana but uses “qualified partners” for those services, said it’s evaluating options in Los Angeles and will continue its service in other locales outside the city, according to Bloomberg.