Cannabis dispensaries in the United States

First modeled in Amsterdam in the late 1970s where they were innocently called coffeeshops, it would take the Americans more than a generation to successfully duplicate the idea of a retail cannabis storefront.

[2] As of 2021 there are state-regulated marijuana dispensaries in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.

These states include; California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, and Washington[6][7][8] The first dispensary San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club was founded in 1992 by Proposition 215 coauthors "Brownie Mary" Rathbun, Dennis Peron and Dale Gieringer.

[22] Coachella Valley Church in San Jose, California made national headlines by offering sacramental marijuana to their members.

[citation needed] As dispensaries grow in popularity, several locating services have been created such as NearGreen, Leafbuyer, Weedmaps, Texas Weed Syndicate, Merry Jane and Leafly[24] Weed Wars is a four-part reality show broadcast on the Discovery Channel which highlights the Harborside Health Center in Oakland California, a medical marijuana dispensary.

Popular American comedian D. L. Hughley's short-lived and controversial news program on CNN ends with the artist visiting a California dispensary to treat back pain.