Acannabis retail outlet (also known as cannabis shop, cannabis dispensary, cannabis store, cannabis cooperative) is a location at which cannabis is sold or otherwise dispensed, either for recreational or for medical use.
Cannabis selling coffeeshops began in the 1970s. Establishments like Mellow Yellow coffeeshop were known for open cannabis smoking and dealing. After an explosion of hard drugs authorities began to tolerate soft drugs and legalized cannabis selling in registered coffeeshops.[4]
In Canada and certain territories of the United States, dispensaries distribute cannabis to the general public or in some cases only to approved patients.[5]InUruguay cannabis dispensaries are built by the government and can sell to the public.[6]
In 2015, the City of San Diego made A Green Alternative the first licensed medical cannabis dispensary and delivery service in the city.[7]
Dispensaries in Canada are also popularly known as cannabis stores (Canadian English).
A Cannabis social club (CSC) is a non-profit members-only industry model for non-medical cannabis. CSCs do not "sell" cannabis as such: legally, they only grow the amount needed for their members in exchange for the costs of production (a form of delegation of home cultivation to the club). The exchange of the product against money is not considered a sale, but a sharing of the costs of production, and therefore can be considered a personal activity, happening in collective private settings.[8]
CSCs exist without specific regulation, taking advantage of legal precedents, in New Zealand, Spain,[9] Belgium,[10]France,[11] the Netherlands,[12] Slovenia,[13] and Austria.[14] They are regulated by law in Uruguay (since 2014), Malta (since 2021), and Germany (since 2024).
The Netherlands is also experimenting a legal dispensary system, in parallel of its coffeeshop model. The pilot project started in December 2023.[citation needed]
