What It's Like Delivering Weed In Los Angeles

To get an idea of what it's really like to deliver weed, I spent a day with a driver from SpeedWeed, a delivery service based in Los Angeles. It's like Postmates or DoorDash, but for cannabis.

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Now that recreational weed is legal in California, anyone over age 21 can buy marijuana in limited amounts. You can even have it brought to your front door, thanks to delivery platforms like Eaze and SpeedWeed.

To get an idea of what it's really like to deliver weed as a side hustle or a full-time job, I spent a day with SpeedWeed employee Ken Breese. He started with the company four years ago as a driver and has since worked his way up to director of operations, but he still picks up a driving shift here and there.

SpeedWeed, which has been around since 2011, used to operate as a medical marijuana delivery company. It's no longer a delivery service, Breese explains — rather, it's a delivery platform that partners with pot shops and helps them run compliant, on-demand delivery. The drivers are technically employed by the shops, he notes, and not SpeedWeed.

I meet Breese in Studio City, Los Angeles and hop in his Mazda 3 Hatchback. Here's how the day unfolds.

Our first stop: The pot shop

SpeedWeed has partnered with five dispensaries around Los Angeles, including Coast to Coast Cannabis in Canoga Park, which is where we'll start and end our day. "Any delivery needs to, by law, originate from the licensee's location and then needs to terminate there as well," Breese tells me. And all deliveries have to be made between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Walking into Coast to Coast is sort of like walking into a bakery or chocolate shop: There's a tidy window display featuring all of the offered cannabis strains, plus a back wall featuring of a bunch of products from various pot brands. People wait in line to be helped by an employee, order what they want and pay.

Besides the sales floor, Coast to Coast has 10 grow rooms that produce more than 30 different strains.

At the shop, we check in with the SpeedWeed shift lead on duty. She packs the orders and makes sure the driver is leaving with all of the documentation they need. "We try to make it so the driver just has to show up with their [SpeedWeed] shirt on and then everything else is taken care of," says Breese.

We're making two deliveries today. The orders are packed in an opaque "exit bag" and then heat-sealed. We place them in a black SpeedWeed backpack, sign out with the shift lead, who also will track the drivers in real time as they make their deliveries, and head back to the parking lot.

Delivery No. 1

I'm not allowed to be in the car with Breese when he has weed on him, but my video producer and I follow him in our rental.

Our first delivery is for comedian Brian Redban, who helped launch the podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience."

SpeedWeed has a lot of celebrity clients, including several stand-up comedians. In general, the clientele is more affluent, Breese tells me, "just because delivery can be a little more expensive." Products cost more if you have them delivered instead of going into the store; plus, there's an $8 delivery fee if your order is under $40.

The delivery service also appeals to people who aren't comfortable going into a pot shop. "There's a lot of soccer mom types who just don't want to go into a dispensary," says Breese. "It can be intimidating."

Another significant chunk of their clients are people who can't leave their homes for medical reasons, he adds.

Anyone over 21 can become a SpeedWeed member. You simply register on the site, provide a valid ID and proof of address and can then order cannabis directly to your door.

The drive from Coast to Coast to Redban's home takes about 45 minutes. I get a true taste of LA traffic.

We find parking on the street near Redban's home, Breese grabs his backpack and we head to the front door. The drop off is simple: Clients can track their order on the app, so Redban is expecting us when we ring the doorbell. He pays with a card (customers can also pay in cash) and opens the package to confirm the order is correct. It's filled with cannabis-infused dark chocolate and half-and-half, and his go-to order: pre-rolled joints. SpeedWeed's menu includes everything from flowers and edibles to concentrates and beverages.

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I spent a day delivering weed in Los Angeles—here's what it was like and how much money you can make | CNBC Make It.