Say hello to the marijuana vending machine - and it's made in California

The late-night shows will have a field day on this one: An OC company called Dispense Labs is introducing a medical marijuana dispensary that looks like a vending machine. The self-contained contraption can be located anywhere, though it requires all kinds of security and software. So far, one machine is operating at The Dispensary Store in Santa Ana. (Check the video: Thirty years ago, it would have been a bit on SNL.) From the OC Register:

To use, patients must swipe a registration card, then enter a PIN number. Payment may be made with cash, credit or debit, then a door opens to release the product. For after-hours purchases, the Autospense must be surrounded by a vending cage that is only accessibly by swiping the registration card. Fingerprint recognition offers one more step of security. Locks, cameras and sensors make the machine difficult to tamper with, [said Disepense founder Joe DeRobbio]. "What goes in, what comes out, it's documented and there's no way to subvert that," he said.

DeRobbio says the controlled nature of the operation will help allay concerns of feeding a black market or contributing to crime.