[C]eres Natural Remedies, a Vermont company that makes and sells CBD products derived from the hemp plant, has opened its first drive-thru in a leased former bank building in Brattleboro.
Customers can buy CBD products at the drive-thru now, and will be able to purchase medical THC products there in January, said Bridget Conry, director of product development for Ceres and for Champlain Valley Dispensary/Southern Vermont Wellness. CVD/SVW dispenses medical cannabis products.
The company says the drive-thru is the first in New England. The nearby state of Massachusetts, which has legalized recreational marijuana sales, seems likely to get a drive-thru soon, but only “if Mass. regulators allow it,” Conry said. She noted there is also a cannabis drive-thru in Florida.
Ceres Natural Remedies has stores in Burlington, Middlebury and Brattleboro.
“One of the reasons we did this is that access and convenience is really important to us,” Conry said of the drive-thru. “We really want to normalize the shopping experience for THC and CBD products and give people the experience they have in other retail environments.”
She added that some of the people who are registered to purchase medical cannabis have health conditions that limit their mobility.
With the drive-thru, “they can stay in their car to pick up their products,” she said.
Conry added that she’s seeing CBD traffic pick up in the drive-thru. She expects heavy THC traffic there after the company finishes its online ordering system.
Consumers must be 18 or older to purchase CBD products, and those purchasing medical marijuana must have a registry card.
The drive-thru, on Putney Road in Brattleboro, has two bays; the other is still a TD bank ATM.
